All the King's Men
by TVfan
Summary: Sequel to A New LifePeter continues to go about training MJ to be Arachne as Wilson Fisk returns to control New York Crime, drawing in a host of old and new bad guys.
1. There Can Only Be One King… pin

All characters appearing in Spider-Man are copyrighted to Marvel Entertainment and Stan Lee. No infringement of these copyrights is intended, and is not authorized by the copyright holder. All original characters are the property of TVfan.

Note: this story is a sequel to my "A New Life" story, and begins a few days after it.

All the King's Men

By TVfan

**Chapter 1: There Can Only Be One King… pin**

**Midtown High**

"He said I have amnesia," Flash said in a frustrated voice, "Right to my face."

Peter quietly ate his lunch while Flash ranted and raved over his recent run in with Spider-Man. He was beginning to slowly run out of ideas with which he could use to get Flash to admit there was a problem.

"So you don't believe him?" Peter asked.

"If course I don't believe him," Flash answered quickly, "I'd know if I had amnesia or not."

"Actually, when most people get amnesia, they don't know it," Peter explained, "It's how the 'disease' works. It's a loss of memory. The person can't remember things that he's experienced and others who know him are likely to be the ones that spot it."

"What about those shows on TV where a character gets amnesia and then says, 'I know I should know you, but I don't'?" Flash asked.

"First off, half of those shows are stupid and the other half are soap operas, and there is some blending of the two," Peter answered, "Second, I'd think that in those cases the amnesia is not full fledged amnesia. A person who truly has amnesia is not likely to even suspect that he knows someone that he has forgotten because of the amnesia."

"Do you agree with Spider-Man then?" Flash asked in a voice that hinted at some anger and some curiosity, "That I have amnesia?"

Peter sighed and looked down at his lunch. He knew Flash had amnesia, but his attempt to come out and tell him that as Spider-Man had backfired and Flash was quite upset about it. Yet at the same time, Peter's conscience couldn't let him let Flash think that he was perfectly healthy.

"You want my honest answer?" Peter asked slowly.

"Should I want any other?" Flash asked back.

Peter only sighed, "Well, to be honest… yes. I agree with Spider-Man. I've 'agreed' with his diagnosis ever since we ran into each other here."

"But I can't have amnesia," Flash insisted, "I still remember lots of stuff. I joined the army right out of high school, and they sent me off into some jungle war of some sort. I earned an honorable discharge and came back here. I worked for Norman Osborn before I got into that car accident."

Peter decided to go on ahead, but trying to be as careful as possible.

"I think you don't have full fledged amnesia, but I don't think you have the soap opera version either," Peter said slowly, "You've forgotten everything between your army career and when you went to work for Osborn."

"And how do you know?" Flash asked sounding angry.

"MJ and I have met with you from time to time when you first returned to New York," Peter answered, "You had some rough times, but you've powered through them… not unlike your football days."

"What tough times?" Flash asked.

Peter sighed, "You had some trouble with alcohol for a while…"

"Are you saying I'm really a drunk now!" Flash growled, nearly alarming the students that were present.

Peter raised his hands up defensively as if to try and keep Flash calm.

"No," Peter said defensively, "You powered through it. In fact you were clean for almost a year before the car accident."

Flash didn't answer but pawed at his food. After a few minutes, Flash spoke again.

"So you're teaching Chemistry right now, right?" Flash asked.

Peter blinked and nodded wondering why Flash had switched topics, "Yes, basic chemistry and basic physics."

"Now, I know we're in the spring right now, but I was wondering, next fall, could you teach them how to build fireworks?" Flash asked.

"Fireworks?" Peter asked.

"Yeah, for when Midtown scores a touchdown," Flash explained, "They do it in baseball when the Yankees hit a home run, so why not us when we score a touchdown."

"I'm sure you could buy fireworks somewhere," Peter commented, "And I don't think high school sports allows for that kind of celebration."

"Colleges fire a cannon when their team scores," Flash pointed out.

"Yes, but they have more money and a large stadium with which to do that, and most of the colleges that do that are on the outer limits of the cities they're in," Peter countered, "They don't play on a old field practically in the middle of a residential neighborhood that such a demonstration would probably be a fire hazard for the entire area. Also, I'm not sure on the rules, but wouldn't that kind of celebration be against the rules for unsportsmanlike conduct at the high school level?"

"Will you do it or not?" Flash demanded forcefully.

"If the city will allow it under the fire codes, and the rules don't say it would be unsportsmanlike, then yes," Peter sighed, "But you have to find out about that."

"Fine," Flash answered and the two men ate the rest of their lunch in silence.

**Elsewhere in Manhattan**

Mary Jane sighed as she continued on a short walk to stretch her legs and see if there were any new plays being prepared that she could audition for. She hadn't found any play that she felt she would be good at. Most were actually in the production stage, so there were no auditions but of the few that were in auditions, none of the characters fit her, either in terms of acting or the physical dimensions of the actor they wanted. One had actually needed a woman who was somewhat overweight to fit the part, which any one walking down the street knew that Mary Jane was not.

Her mind, however, was not truly focused on the success or failure of finding a new play to audition for, but her new life that fate had thrust on her. Being 'Arachne' every now and then would be a big change for her. She knew that from the moment she took the costume from Aunt May when the Other ruined the production of the play that she had been working on, which was now cancelled. But seeing what the Hobgoblin had done to Liz's apartment made Mary Jane feel that being 'Arachne' was the right thing, at least to try and prevent others from having to deal with that sort of thing, but the knowledge of what Peter went through as Spider-Man made her worry over what would happen to her personal life.

"Life never seems to get easier," Mary Jane sighed to herself as she walked.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard a scream come from nearby. She looked across the street to see two men in suits dragging what looked like an average man down an alley.

"Great," Mary Jane mumbled to herself and moved as carefully as she could toward another alley.

Shortly after, Arachne leaped over the street that divided the two rows of skyscrapers. She easily found the alley that the two men in suits had drug the first man into. Both suited men were holding the first man against a wall and were repeatedly hammering blows against him.

"Where is he!" one of the suited men demanded.

"I told ya I don't know what you're talkin' about!" the victim of the attack answered, spitting out blood.

Arachne watched as the two suited men delivered another series of blows to the man they held prisoner.

"You will tell us where he is!" the second suited man said insistently.

The man pulled back his arm preparing to land another punch on the trapped victim. Just as he was about to bring his arm forward, he felt something wrap around his wrist and then feeling a slight tug. The tug wasn't strong enough to lift him into the air, but it was enough to change the direction in which his fist was going, and it ended up hitting the brick of the side of the building he and his partner had shoved their victim up against. When he saw his fist he saw that there was a thick strand of webbing wrapped around his wrist.

"It's Spi-," the man exclaimed as he looked up to see that it was not Spider-Man above them.

"Actually, Spiderwoman is on a mission with S.H.I.E.L.D. and I think it should be obvious that I am not Spider-Man," Arachne commented from her position on the wall.

She then dropped down, landing feet first on second suited man and knocked him to the ground. She ducked as her spider-sense warned her of an incoming punch and then threw the first suited man against a garbage dumpster.

"I'm Arachne, but I suppose you're bound to make that mistake," Arachne continued, "I am rather new at this."

The man she had thrown pulled a handgun out from inside his suit and aimed it at her.

"Then you just won early retirement!" the man said with a laugh.

Arachne jumped almost half a second before the man pulled the trigger, and his bullet harmlessly imbedded itself in the brick of the building. She landed on top of the dumpster behind the man and then clubbed him with both fists. He then fell to the ground unconscious and dropped his gun. Arachne simply hopped down and bent the gun so that it wouldn't be able to fire again.

"One of the upsides of having these powers I guess," Arachne thought to herself and then set about webbing up the two suited men.

Once she had them webbed together and seated at the edge of the alley, she turned to check on the victim of their attack. He looked like he was pretty badly beat up. He had once black eye and several bruises elsewhere on his face, and his lips were swollen. To Arachne's surprise, the man was still conscious.

"You okay?" Arachne asked.

The victim opened his eyes as wide as he could to see who was talking and he seemed to give a sigh when he saw that it was Arachne.

"I'm fine," the man choked out, coughing up a little blood.

"You don't look fine," Arachne commented.

"It's nothing," the man answered, "I just bit my tongue when they were landing their punches."

"Oh," Arachne nodded, "Any clue as to why they attacked you?"

"No clue," the man replied.

"Those two were looking for somebody," Arachne pointed out, "I heard them demand you tell them where 'he' is. Any idea who 'he' is?"

"Why do you want to know?" the man choked out, "They're just muggers."

"I'd think they're more then that," Arachne answered, "Muggers don't ask where 'he' is. They say 'gimmie your money'."

"They wanted to know where my boss was," the man managed to say, "I don't know why and I don't know what they were talking about. My boss runs a bakery. Can I go now?"

"Sure," Arachne said, "I'm not gonna stop ya, although you might want to see a doctor about your injuries."

"Thanks," the man grumbled as he walked out of the alley back onto New York's streets.

Arachne only sighed as she watched the man walk away. She then looked down at the red and blue spandex costume she was wearing and the fact that her normal clothes were wrapped up in a web-pouch against another building not far away.

"I guess I'm webslinging home," Arachne sighed to herself and then began climbing back up the wall.

**Avengers** **Tower**

Peter was in a depressed mood when he returned to the Avengers Tower late that afternoon. He was absolutely certain that Flash was mad at him. He usually had trouble getting away from Midtown's new Gym teacher when the days that he taught ended, but it was obvious to him that Flash was avoiding him when the day ended. He found Jarvis standing at the elevator wearing an outfit that while formal and business-like, was no where near as dressed up as what he had normally seen the man dressed in.

"Hi Jarvis," Peter said politely as he walked in.

"Hello, Mr. Parker," Jarvis answered, "Is there anything wrong?"

"No nothing's wrong," Peter sighed, "So what's with the outfit? Anything that isn't a tuxedo and you don't wear it."

"I was instructed to wear this, sir," Jarvis replied, "Your Aunt insisted on giving me a night off."

"Ah, a date then," Peter mused with a weak grin, "Just make sure she's back by ten, and no funny business."

"Really, Peter," Aunt May scolded as she entered the area, "Jarvis is a perfect gentleman."

"I'm sorry," Peter sighed, "I couldn't resist. Have fun."

"Of course, sir," Jarvis answered as May began to usher him toward the elevator.

"You're off duty," Aunt May said firmly, "No more 'sirs' or 'ma'ams' out of you."

"Yes, madam," Jarvis replied.

Peter chuckled slightly as the elevator door shut. He still wasn't entirely used to his Aunt dating again, but he had accepted it, and he also found their interactions to be rather funny at times. Jarvis was very devoted to the Avengers and Aunt May seemed to be almost battling the Avengers to get Jarvis to relax a bit. Peter found that part of their relationship amusing, and it fueled a part of him that was beginning to want to see them do well together.

He found Mary Jane sitting in a recliner watching television. It appeared to be a special movies channel as he could see the movie 'The Godfather' being played on the screen.

"Hey, Tiger," Mary Jane called to him as he came closer, "How did your day go?"

Peter slowly walked around the couch to sit next to his wife. He wasn't surprised by her speaking to him before he had even announced his presence. She was getting much better at using all of her powers, but there was still plenty of room for improvement.

"I think Flash hates me," Peter sighed as he sat down.

Mary Jane looked over at him with a look of confusion on her face.

"Huh?" Mary Jane asked.

"He didn't believe 'Spider-Man' when I told him, as Spider-Man, that he has amnesia," Peter sighed in response.

"Shouldn't that have made him hate Spider-Man?" Mary Jane asked, "Why does he hate you?"

"He asked me if I agreed with Spider-Man," Peter looked down.

"I'm going to assume that you told the truth," Mary Jane sighed back.

Peter could only nod.

"You're beating yourself up over nothing, Peter," Mary Jane tried to comfort him, "You told the truth and that's the best you can do. You may be Spider-Man, but you don't have a medical degree."

"But it's my life as Spider-Man that got him into this mess," Peter sighed, "If I wasn't Spider-Man, Osborn wouldn't have made him have that car accident that's caused this. I've got to find a way to help him."

"Not everything can be helped," Mary Jane reminded him, "Flash's amnesia won't be cured until he admits that he is wrong and that he does have amnesia. I'm also going to say that he can't hate you because you think there is something wrong. He just doesn't like the answer. Not you."

"I hope you're right, MJ," Peter sighed, "But I just feel that I've got to help him."

"You'll figure something out," Mary Jane encouraged, "You always do."

Peter slowly nodded, "I hope so. So, how did your day go?"

"Fine," Mary Jane answered, "No new plays that are out there to audition for, but a good one will come along sooner or later."

"I'm sure," Peter nodded.

"Even got a little practice in today," Mary Jane continued, "Came across these two guys in suits. They were roughing up this other guy pretty bad. I think they were mob guys."

"Ironic that you're watching the Godfather," Peter commented.

Mary Jane raised an eyebrow and then shook her head, "Anyway, I took both of them down and left them for the police. Their victim walked off looking like he'd been tortured."

"Good to see that Arachne is doing her civic duty," Peter commented with a smile.

"Very funny," Mary Jane sighed and put her arm around Peter's shoulders.

**Hotel, elsewhere in Manhattan**

The two men that Arachne had earlier defeated shook heavily as they entered the hotel room that was currently operating as the headquarters for their boss.

"I believe that by the sound of your teeth chattering that you did not find your target's location," an aristocratic voice spoke from the opposite end of the room that they had entered.

"We found one of his lieutenants, but there was a problem," the first man said slowly.

"Yeah," the second man piped up, "Some chick in a spider costume came down on us. We just about got the guy to squeal too."

"Would you mind identifying the 'chick' for me?" a large man asked as he approached the two men, "There are four Spiderwomen, two of which are retired, one behind bars. There is also a new heroine calling herself Arachne. Which one of these was it?"

The two men looked at each other.

"I think she was Arachne, Kingpin," the first man answered.

"Thank you," Wilson Fisk, commonly known as the Kingpin in earlier days, answered, "That wasn't so hard. Now you say you almost had your man ready to talk when she arrived?"

"Yes, Kingpin," the second man nodded.

"Don't call me that," Wilson Fisk growled, "Thanks to Norman Osborn, the Owl now holds that privilege and title. Until I retake what is rightfully mine, I am only Wilson Fisk, understood?"

"Yes, sir," the two men answered in unison as they backed away from the larger man.

"No return to your patrols," Fisk growled, "I want the Owl found. He has been missing ever since I returned. Osborn set him up as the new Kingpin, I expect him to act like it."

"Yes, sir," the two man acknowledged and ran out the room, grateful that they were still alive.

A weak breeze then blew through the hotel room once the door shut behind them.

"We did not help you achieve a point where you could regain your power to war with other criminals," a voice spoke from behind Fisk, "The target you agreed to fight is not the Owl."

"I can not go after your target and defend myself from others at the same time," Fisk answered calmly, "My reputation as the Kingpin will always precede me, and men like Silvermaine and Fortunato will not allow me to recover that position. I will recover my position first and then I will deal with your target, who, if you remember is also in a way mine, since he was a help to my enemies."

"Just so long as you remember your true mission," the voice answered, "We can just easily put you back where we found you."

"Your enemy will be beaten or delivered to you," Fisk growled back, "I would appreciate it if you had more faith."

"Faith is what got us in trouble," the voice answered, "We want vengeance and you will provide it for us."

"Proper planning takes time," Fisk answered, "Stop demanding his dead body now. You will get him."

"We better," the voice answered as it faded out.

Fisk only sighed and then picked up a phone and dialed a number.

"Yes," came a low voice on the other end.

"They are getting impatient," Fisk spoke, "We need to accelerate the plan. New York's crime establishment is to return its loyalty to me. You know what to do."

**Avengers** **Tower, Next Day**

"Wow," Peter commented as he watched the digital results come up on the screen in front of him.

"What's 'wow'?" Mary Jane asked from where she was positioned.

Peter was still working with her to insure that she would have full control over all her powers, and both were grateful that Mary Jane proved to be a fast learner. At the present they were trying to determine the limits to Mary Jane's strength and were using a special 'bench-press machine' that Tony used to test new models of the Iron Man armor.

"Five tons," Peter answered, "And that didn't even slow you down."

"But aren't you able to lift like ten tons?" Mary Jane asked.

"Slightly more when under stress," Peter sighed with a grin, "But yeah. I'd think that you should either attain proportionate strength to that of a spider or equal Jessica's. Which means the minimum weight you should be able to lift is seven tons, and the maximum is a slight unknown."

Mary Jane sat up, "What do you mean 'unknown'?"

"Well, female spiders are actually much larger then males," Peter explained, "MUCH larger. The male is minuscule compared to the female. Now, I've always assumed that my powers are based on a male spider since I'm… since I'm a guy. And if gender is a factor, and yours are then based of a female spider, then your maximum strength might be below ten tons. However, that might not matter at all and what needs to be known is the gender of the spider that originally bit me, which I don't know."

"You don't know?" Mary Jane asked.

"I wasn't about to see if the spider that bit me was male or female," Peter answered defensively, "I can't even remember if it survived or not, it was so long ago. Anyway, if that is true, then our strength should be equal."

"Every girl's dream," Mary Jane said sarcastically.

"This is important," Peter insisted, "Everyone needs to know their limits. I may be strong, but if a twenty ton truck were to fall on me, I'd still be crushed."

Peter then pressed a button on the wall that changed the pressure that the machine would apply.

"Okay, we're at six tons now," Peter announced, "Give it a go."

Mary Jane sighed. Up until now she had never used any sort of weight lifting equipment, and was glad that none of the other Avengers were there to watch her, as she was sure she was doing something wrong in terms of style. She gripped the metal bar that was connected to the pressurized cylinders that served as the barbell. Pressing a small button to activate the systems that would provide the pressure for the machine to work, she applied all her strength to hold up the bar.

"I don't suppose we have any pictures taken with Flash in our collection?" Peter asked as Mary Jane brought the bar down to her chest.

"Peter, neither of us have been into scrap booking," Mary Jane answered, "All the photographs we have are either of Spider-Man or of us, and of the ones of us, there are a good many then are never to be seen by anyone besides you and me."

"I have photos of Uncle Ben and Aunt May," Peter protested.

"All of which are framed photographs in our bedroom," Mary Jane answered as she easily lifted the bar back up, "The only Parker to have kept such an album was Aunt May, and that was burned up when her house was destroyed."

"I just thought I had a way to prove that he has amnesia," Peter sighed, "Because I'm certain he doesn't believe us right now."

"I know you're trying to help him," Mary Jane sighed, "But we might just have to let him accept this on his own."

Peter sighed and pressed another button to increase the weight.

"This is seven tons, Jessica's maximum," Peter announced.

Mary Jane then repeated the same exercise again, and again it was performed easily. This proved to Peter that Mary Jane had Peter's proportionate strength and not Jessica's strength which seemed to have a limit at seven tons. Peter was about to press a button to increase the weight again when Jarvis entered the room looking rather nervous.

"What is it, Jarv?" Peter asked.

Jarvis ignored the fact that Peter had shortened his name and began to make his report.

"Have you seen the news?" Jarvis asked.

"No, we've been in here," Peter answered, "What's going on?"

The nervousness in Jarvis's voice got both Peter and Mary Jane's attention.

"There is a large gun battle going on," Jarvis reported, "It's on the south side of Manhattan."

Both Peter and Mary Jane rushed out of the room to follow Jarvis to the television room where Aunt May was already watching the news broadcast.

"For those of you just tuning in," the reporter spoke on the screen, "A large gun duel has erupted on the southern end of Manhattan between two groups of organized crime syndicates."

Peter and Mary Jane looked on with a nervous glance as the reporter continued.

"One of the factions is reported to be the Maggia, lead by Silvio Manfredi, alias, Silvermaine," the reporter continued, "We have received no reports on the identity of the other syndicate involved in this apparent 'gang war'."

"We gotta put a stop to this," Peter breathed, "Before someone is hurt."

"Police have quarantined the area and ask that all people remain in their homes," the reporter finished as Peter and Mary Jane left.

After a minute, Spider-Man and Arachne both leaped out of one of the windows to the tower and began swinging towards southern Manhattan.

"Some training session," Arachne grumbled.

"Well, I think we would have gone webslinging anyway," Spider-Man sighed, "So you could practice your aim and using your spider-sense, but I hadn't planned on it being under such circumstances."

"I'd bet it's those same guys I saw yesterday, or at least they work for the same guy as those guys I saw yesterday," Arachne commented.

"Real descriptive," Spider-Man chuckled under his breath, "Did 'those guys' say who they were working for?"

Arachne let go of her webline and landed on an extended flagpole and sighed while Spider-Man landed next to her.

"I just knocked them out," Arachne sighed.

"So, in reality, we have no clue," Spider-Man sighed back, "Life hasn't changed in that regard."

The two then continued on their way.

**Elsewhere**

"What the devil is going on down there?" an elderly man with silver hair, commonly known as Silvermaine growled into his phone.

His eyes widened when he heard the answer come over the other line. He then gripped the phone tighter in his bony hands.

"Kill them," Silvermaine growled, "Then get out of there. If so much as one man is arrested by the police, I will make sure those who escape wish they were arrested."

"Trouble, sir?" a butler asked from behind.

"Some fool has challenged my business," Silvermaine growled, "He has made a foolish mistake in trying to take over the Maggia!"

Silvermaine felt the wind of a dart flying past his neck and hitting the butler behind him in the throat. His eyes widened further when he saw the man fall to the ground. He quickly rushed forward to check his pulse, and found that there was none.

"I'd be careful," a voice said from behind him, "that dart is coated in a resin that is poisonous to the touch."

Silvermaine drew a hand gun from his pocket and turned to find the large glass doors that lead to the balcony of his penthouse open. He didn't see anyone there at first.

"Come out with your hands up!" Silvermaine ordered, "I know there's someone here."

A knife came flying across the room and knocked the gun out of his hands. Silvermaine turned to see a man in a black and white costume standing to the side of him.

"Bullseye!" Silvermaine gasped.

Bullseye laughed as he produced another knife and advanced on Silvermaine. The older man backed away, slowly.

"You were partially right when you were taking with your butler," Bullseye commented with a smile, "But my employer isn't seeking to take over the Maggia. He is seeking to destroy the Maggia in New York."

"But, the Kingpin was driven out of power," Silvermaine stuttered, "And his replacement, the Owl turned himself in."

"Ah," Bullseye smiled, "So that's where he went."

"The Kingpin won't get away with this!" Silvermaine vowed as he continued to back away, looking for his gun.

"Oh, I'm afraid he will," Bullseye smiled, "You're the only one here, and the police are now running to the diversion on the southside. By the time the police find you, the Maggia in New York will be did."

Silvermaine dove for his gun at the same moment that Bullseye threw his knife. The black and white clothed assassin smiled as watched his knife hit its target. He then walked over to the phone that Silvermaine had dropped when Bullseye killed the butler. He waited quietly for the answer to come.

"Yes?" Fisk's voice asked on the other line.

"Mission successful," Bullseye reported, "Silvermaine is dead."

"Excellent," Fisk answered, "Now if the 'goons' can successfully deplete the Maggia's manpower."

"There's one more thing, sir," Bullseye added, "One you might find interesting."

"Oh, what is that?" Fisk asked.

"Owl is currently behind bars," Bullseye reported, "At least that's what Silvermaine reported before I killed him."

"Most interesting," Fisk said triumphantly, "If we can get information out of the Owl's organization that confirms this, then we will have one less obstacle to overcome in this endeavor. Return to base. The police are beginning to react to today's activities."

"Yes, sir," Bullseye answered and hung up his phone and then tossed it at the body of Silvermaine and then chuckled, "I believe that's yours."

With that, Bullseye left.

**Southern Manhattan**

The white eye-pieces on Arachne's mask were stretched to look as wide and large as they possibly could as Arachne looked at the carnage going on. Spider-Man looked almost indifferent to the situation, although he was obviously determined to stop it. There were two groups of men in suits fighting it out against each other around and apparently inside a warehouse. No one looked to be dead from what either hero could see, but it was obvious that there were wounded.

"Which sided is which?" Arachne asked as she looked at the masses of suited men fighting each other.

"I don't know," Spider-Man sighed, "As far as I know, organized crime has never decided to wear uniforms that identify which organization they belong to."

Arachne shrugged her shoulders and then asked, "Why is it that WE are here before any policemen?"

"They are probably making sure that none of these guys are causing a mess around this area and are making sure that no innocents get in the way," Spider-Man answered, "Which leaves us with the fun part."

Arachne looked at the battle nervously and then gulped, "Joy."

Spider-Man nodded and fixed a camera to the wall of the building that they were standing on with some webbing.

"Okay, I'll take care of the guys on the left," Spider-Man said as he pointed to a group of men crouching around crates and wooden palettes trying to gun down the men on the other side, "You take the guys on the right. Remember that your spider-sense is going to be your most important weapon in this situation. Always pay attention to it."

Arachne slowly nodded and joined Spider-Man on the edge of the rooftop. After a second or two, Spider-Man nodded back and leaped from the roof. Arachne was close behind.

"Geronimo!" Spider-Man screamed as he flew through the air toward the group of criminals on the left.

The group looked up to see Spider-Man descending on them. One managed to raise his weapon to fire, but wasn't quick enough to prevent Spider-Man from landing on him. The landing knocked the crook out, and Spider-Man quickly then shot out two weblines and disarmed the other two crooks. His spider-sense blazed as hard as it could, and reacting instinctively, Spider-Man did a back flip over the men behind him, and their bullets flew harmlessly over the heads of the men that were in front of Spider-Man. The sound of gunfire that close however, made those men drop tot the ground.

"Don't you guys ever learn?" Spider-Man teased as he knocked out the three men who had just fired on him with a swift succession of punches, "You never bring guns to a spider-fight."

Arachne also landed quickly on top of one of the suited men and knocked him out. Her landing, however, also destroyed the crate that the man was hiding behind and her spider-sense told her to move quickly. She quickly leaped again to cling to the wall of the warehouse.

"Jeez," one of the men growled, "We got Spider-Man going after our enemies, but we got Spi…"

"My name is ARACHNE!" Arachne screamed as she fired off a series of weblines and disarmed the gangsters.

Arachne then leaped back down toward them, easily avoiding some gunfire that had come from one or two of the crooks that had earlier been caught in fist fights in the middle of the open area. The first man stepped back to avoid being landed on, but couldn't get out of the way of a punch that Arachne threw at him. The blow sent the man flying and only a chain link fence stopped him from going into the street. This sent most of the men running away in shock and surprise, but one man remained firm.

"No woman can be that tough!" the man exclaimed and made a fist.

Arachne caught his punch with one hand and stopped his momentum the instant his fist hit her gloved palm. The man quickly found that he couldn't make any progress against Arachne. It was then, that the heroine decided to squeeze his fist a little. The man then struggled in vain to free himself from her grip.

"I beg to differ," Arachne said coldly and then threw the man into the same chain link fence she had earlier punched one of his associates into.

Before the man fell unconscious, Arachne turned her attention to the group of crooks in the center of the parking lot to find that all of them and circled together and had drawn handguns. Arachne's spider-sense continued to buzz as hard as it could.

"Great," Arachne grumbled.

Amongst the circle of men in suits they gathered together and surprisingly talked while Spider-Man and Arachne dealt with their allies and enemies on either side of them.

"If we don't work together to get rid of those two, we're all going to go to jail," one of the Kingpin's men said to one of Silvermaine's men.

Silvermaine's man watched as Arachne dove down to fight with the Maggia members that where behind the crates that were near her position. He then glanced to his compatriots and nodded.

"We'll deal with the woman," Silvermaine's man said, "You take care of Spider-Man.

"You got it," Kingpin's man smiled and charged toward Spider-Man with his compatriots coming along side.

Their fire forced Spider-Man to leap down behind the crates, and this gave the gangsters some confidence, but as they got closer, they were surprised to see several whole crates come flying at them. One took out the leader and knocked him into the man behind him. The others merely scattered the group, which was more then enough for Spider-Man. While the crooks attempted to recover from the crates flying at them, Spider-Man easily vaulted over the lone crate that remained in front of him.

"Come on," Spider-Man teased as he knocked the first of the crooks out, "I'm hardly getting warmed up."

He then disarmed several of the men by wrapping their hands and guns in webbing. Two managed to get a few shots off, but thanks to his spider-sense, Spider-Man easily avoided both the initial shot and the ricochet of each bullet.

"Come on, I'm over here," Spider-Man taunted as he bounced off the wall and tackled the remaining armed men.

"You won't be so funny after we slice open your neck," one of the first men from this group that Spider-Man had disarmed growled as he had produced a knife somehow.

Spider-Man easily avoided the attack and then punched the man, who did a back flip in midair after the impact of his fist and landed face down on the concrete.

Arachne meanwhile watched as the group of Maggia men advanced on her. A few fired, but Arachne was easily able to avoid the bullets. She silently sighed with relief that her spider-sense powers could sense danger before it came. She wasn't about to admit this to Spider-Man, but despite her newfound powers, it was times like this that terrified her. But, she did her best to keep that away from the front of her mind.

She quickly grabbed and 'clung' to two of the crates that were in front of her and then threw them at the advancing mobsters. The crates hit the first two mobsters and splintered on impact, knocking both down. Arachne then got an unexpected help from the two gangsters that she had hit with the crates, as they accidentally fired their weapons as they fell and shot two of the other gangsters in the foot. Arachne the leaped from her position and landed a kick on one of the two remaining gangsters and blinded the other with webbing. She quickly webbed up the others to make sure that none of them could either escape or come after her and Spider-Man later. She found Spider-Man waiting for her as she approached the middle of the area.

"Is that all of them?" Arachne asked as she approached Spider-Man.

At the same time, one of the warehouse's windows shattered and a man fell out of it, landing inside an open garbage dumpster.

"All that where outside, I think," Spider-Man answered, "And meanwhile, you got to teach me how to get the bad guys to shoot their partners. I've never managed that."

"It was dumb luck and you know it," Arachne answered, "Now how are we going to deal with the ones inside the warehouse?"

Spider-Man looked up at the window and replied, "Best idea would be to go through the window and beat up whoever's inside, and then leave them for the police. I don't think these guys are going to give us any answers that would be credible if we tried to question them."

"Lead the way then," Arachne gestured for Spider-Man to go first.

Spider-Man leaped first and shot out a webline and used it to swing in through the same window that had earlier been broken. Arachne leaped up to the wall and crawled over to the window and entered in considerably less dramatic fashion. They found the situation inside the warehouse to be very different from the one on the outside. Inside, one group of crooks was obviously on the ropes trying to hold on. Surprisingly there didn't appear to be many serious injuries, but those who were down wouldn't be getting up soon. However, it was also soon obvious that average gangsters were not involved in this fight.

"Well, boys, lookie what we got here," a deep voice said from nearby, "Spider-Man and some chick!"

Spider-Man turned to see who had spoken and saw a large muscular man shove the head of Maggia man through a large wooden crate, knocking the much smaller gangster out. It was a man that Spider-Man had dealt with before.

"Ox!" Spider-Man exclaimed, "Shouldn't you be in jail somewhere?"

"Got out," Ox answered as he threw a crate at Spider-Man and Arachne.

Spider-Man ducked under the crate and Arachne shot out a webline and swung to the other side of the warehouse.

"So, where are your buddies, Ox?" Spider-Man asked.

"Oh, we're right here," came a slightly westernized accent from behind Spider-Man.

Spider-Man turned to see Montana wrap his bullwhip around his arm in an attempt to try and hold him still. This tactic wouldn't normally work, but did give Ox the time to get close and deliver the strongest possible punch, which threw Spider-Man over Montana's head.

"Spider-Man!" Arachne called out as she watched this go on after she had taken out two of the more normal gangsters from behind.

Her spider-sense then buzzed slightly as two bullets came flying out from the ground level below her and forced her to leap down onto the top of a crate and then flip to the ground to face a man wearing business suit and hat. He held two semi-automatic pistols in his hands.

"You'd best worry about yourself, lady," the man said in a warning voice.

Arachne looked at him for a moment, and could barely believe this guy to be a threat to her. Through all the training she had received, she had learned that guns were next to useless against her spider-sense and the man didn't look like he could be either fast enough or strong enough to fight her one on one. The man was in fact eight inches shorter then she was!

"And you're supposed to be scaring me how?" Arachne asked.

"Don't you know who we are?" the man gestured to himself, Montana, and Ox.

Arachne looked up to see Spider-Man battling with the cowboy and the larger heavily muscled man. She then webbed up the man's guns and lifted him into the air.

"I'm sorry, I'm rather new at all this," Arachne admitted, "Could you tell me who I just defeated?"

The man gapped at her, "We're the Enforcers! Montana, Ox, and me, Fancy Dan."

"Nothing terribly fancy about you," Arachne commented.

Fancy Dan only growled at her, "I hate Spider-Man's humor! Don't use it!"

The sound of police sirens were now heard approaching as the police had finally made sure that the areas outside the warehouse were secure.

"Dang it!" Fancy Dan yelled, "It's the cops, we gotta get out of here."

Fancy Dan then kicked his legs and caught one good blow on Arachne's chest. She didn't expect him to keep fighting after she'd clearly beaten him and was unprepared for the blow. It didn't hurt, but it did force her to drop Fancy Dan and take a step or two back. Fancy Dan immediately ran for the back exit.

Spider-Man, meanwhile, leaped to another section of the raised railing to avoid taking another punch from Ox. While the big guy wasn't strong enough to really hurt him, he could get hurt if he tried to fight it out with him while leaving Montana free to take cracks at him with his bullwhip or to pull a gun. He fired out a webline at Ox, but the man caught the webline surprisingly, and Spider-Man could only web his arms together. It was at this time that the police sirens became audible and Fancy Dan called the retreat. Montana and Ox were quick to join their partner, although Ox was slowed slightly by the webbing around his wrists.

"You aren't going to get away that easy!" Spider-Man exclaimed and leaped down to the lower level and joined Arachne in pursuing the crooks.

Unfortunately for the two heroes, they ended up catching two more normal gangsters who were also trying to escape, and in the brief time that it took them to knock them out and then web them up, the Enforcers and one or two others had escaped.

"We'd better get going," Spider-Man sighed as he heard the sirens get closer and the car engines begin to stop, "don't want to attract any more attention then we have to."

Arachne nodded and then followed Spider-Man out.

**Hotel, That Evening**

Fisk calmly looked through a stack of relatively old newspapers as the Enforcers finished report.

"So, Spider-Man and 'some chick' defeated both you and the Maggia at the warehouse?" Fisk asked.

"We coulda beaten them if the cops hadn't started to show up," Ox answered.

"The fact that both you and Fancy Dan had to have webbing removed from your person and the fact that Montana has a black eye, more then proves your invincibility," Fisk commented with a half chuckle.

"We could have," Fancy Dan spoke up, "The chick had no clue as to who we are. Probably can't really fight either."

"The fact that a third of my men and two thirds of the Maggia from the battle are currently in jail seem to counter that theory," Fisk answered, "And as for the 'chick' not knowing you, according to the papers, Arachne has only become Spider-Man's partner recently. You can not expect her to know you instantly."

"But…" Montana began.

"Stop sniveling," Fisk ordered, "Despite Spider-Man and Arachne's interference you did your job quite well."

"How?" Ox asked.

Fisk smiled, "You provided the perfect distraction. The police and Manhattan's heroes were drawn to your battle while Bullseye was successfully able to assassinate Silvermaine himself. The Maggia are powerless now. They will battle with themselves about choosing a new leader, and other gangs will now attack them in an attempt to take over their territory."

The Enforcers merely looked on in silence. Fisk continued.

"This will help to destabilize Manhattan's crime families, which will put me back on top," Fisk continued, "Then we can turn to the job of repaying our little debt and find our benefactor's enemy. Norman Osborn."

**Avengers** **Tower**

"Sounds like you two had quite the day," Aunt May commented as she Peter, and Mary Jane sat in the living room watching the news.

"Just another day of training," Mary Jane sighed, "Gone wrong."

Peter sighed with her, "Almost every time I've tried to give MJ some basic training to help her get used to her powers, something comes up. Fist the Hobgoblin, now an apparent gang war."

"If you feel you've made the wrong choice, you don't need to hesitate to change your mind," Aunt May spoke to Mary Jane.

"It's not that I feel I made the wrong choice," Mary Jane sighed, "But I'm still adjusting to a lot of things. I haven't completely mastered my pheromone powers yet. Peter wants to see just how strong I am now, which we couldn't finish today. And I still need more practice honing my spider-sense and my accuracy with the webslinging. I know the choice I've made, but I don't want to go out there get myself hurt because I'm not prepared enough."

"You don't need to worry about that," Peter said to her, "You've gotten much better. In fact, you've come a lot farther with your powers then I did with mine when I first got mine."

"Yes, but I had a very good teacher," Mary Jane smiled weakly, "It's mostly still adjustment on my part."

Peter nodded as the news program cut into breaking news.

"Attention viewers, but this has just come in," the reporter announced, "Silvio Manfredi, also known as Silvermaine, has been found dead in his apartment. Killed by a knife, which appeared to have been thrown at him. There are no known suspects at this time and there are now traces of biological clues on the knife. For those just tuning in, the criminal boss known as Silvermaine is dead."

"Things just got a lot more complicated," Peter grumbled as he stared at the screen.

**To Be Continued…**


	2. Detective Work

All characters appearing in Spider-Man are copyrighted to Marvel Entertainment and Stan Lee. No infringement of these copyrights is intended, and is not authorized by the copyright holder. All original characters are the property of TVfan.

Note: this story is a sequel to my "A New Life" story, and begins a few days after it.

All the King's Men

By TVfan

**Chapter 2: Detective Work**

**Office** **Building**

"Dead?" a skinny man, who looked like he was nothing more then a bookkeeper asked.

"Yes," a suited man answered, totally unafraid, "It's all over the news. The police have no leads."

"What about the Maggia?" the bookkeeper asked.

"They know less then police do concerning who killed Silvermane," the suited man answered, "All they know is that some criminal syndicate hired the Enforcers and attacked Silvermane's organization. Spider-Man and this new heroine, Arachne, stopped the fight, but both Silvermane's men and the men of their attacker were sent to prison. The Enforcers escaped."

"With Silvermane dead and his organization destroyed that leaves the Maggia very weak in New York," the bookkeeper said in a slightly frightened voice, "And you know what that means?"

"No sir," the suited man answered.

"It means we are in danger," the bookkeeper answered, "Osborn helped the Owl gain power and replacing the Kingpin, but he held it by dividing power in New York. By giving special spheres of influence to the Maggia, to Fortunato, to himself, and to every other family there was a balance that was not present when the Kingpin was around. Owl kept his power because he didn't have to fight anyone the way the Kingpin had to."

"Yeah, but when he pissed off the Absorbing Man and got Spider-Man and that weird guy involved, we got beat and now the fact that no one has challenged us is the only reason the Owl's organization still exists," the suited man said in agreement.

"We must find out who is attacking the Maggia," the bookkeeper said, "And we must exercise the crime treaty that the Owl negotiated and get all the families to destroy this invader, or else the Owl's organization will be gone before he is released."

**Elsewhere**

Spider-Man quietly landed on the side of an apartment building. He looked in through the window to see that the kitchen light was on. He then knocked on the glass, hoping the person who lived in the apartment was in.

"Felicia?" Spider-Man called in, "You home?"

He was greeted by a woman in sweatpants and tee-shirt coming out of the kitchen. He could recognize her as Felicia Hardy by her snow white hair. Felicia walked over to the window and lifted it up, giving Spider-Man access to her apartment.

"A little late for a social call, isn't it, Spider?" Felicia asked with a slight grin as Spider-Man came in through her window.

"This isn't a social cal," Spider-Man answered, "This is business."

He then turned to see that Felicia was looking out the window he had just entered. After a few seconds she then turned to look at him, and he saw that she looked somewhat puzzled.

"What?" Spider-Man asked.

"Red's not with you?" Felicia asked.

Spider-Man silently wondered why she was asking about Mary Jane. Other then the Avengers, Aunt May, and Jarvis, no one else knew that she was now Arachne.

"What are you talking about?" Spider-Man asked.

Felicia rolled her eyes, "You know, the voluptuous redhead you married. The one you picked over me. The one who's apparently picked up the habit of wearing red and blue spandex in public."

If Spider-Man weren't wearing his mask, Felicia would have clearly seen that he had a very shocked look on his face. She had obviously deduced who Arachne was, but he didn't know how.

"How did you…?" Spider-Man managed to mumble out.

Felicia smiled and sat down in a sofa opposite Spider-Man.

"Arachne has Red's figure, not to mention hair color and style," Felicia explained with a smile.

"But there are many women with red hair and a similar figure and hairstyle," Spider-Man pointed out, "How could you point out Arachne as MJ?"

"One, while she's done an excellent job at disguising her voice, which she has to do, since her mask doesn't cover her mouth to muffle it, it's still obvious to anyone that's heard her speak and understands how they speak it should be pretty obvious," Felicia answered, "And as a private investigator, I should know these things."

"But…" Spider-Man began and then became somewhat aggressive, "You've been following her!"

"I had to be sure you were being faithful, Spider," Felicia shrugged, "From the pictures that have made the Bugle, Arachne seems to be rather close to you, and you're the kind of person that wouldn't let anyone but his wife to be THAT close."

"So what, you were gonna tell MJ I was cheating on her?" Spider-Man questioned.

Felicia gave a sly smile, "It had crossed my mind. But then, if I were, she'd expect me to help her, and then I couldn't try and pick you up on the rebound, couldn't I?"

"We wouldn't get divorced over that sort of accusation," Spider-Man answered, "Especially because it's groundless. If you tell MJ I'm cheating on her with Arachne, I'm then cheating on MJ by going out with MJ behind her back. Which is confusing."

"Relax, Spider," Felicia tried to keep herself from laughing, "Besides, as you said, the possible accusation of you having an affair is groundless. Once I was certain that Arachne was really Red, that hope was shot. I was just curious that she wasn't with you."

"She's back at the Avenger's Tower," Spider-Man answered, "Working on some training exercises as far as I know."

"Ah, so what was this business that you wanted to talk to me about?" Felicia asked while nodding.

"I'm going to assume you know that Silvermane's dead," Spider-Man spoke.

"It's been all over the news," Felicia answered, "Who doesn't?"

Spider-Man nodded, "It's obvious that someone is starting what will be a pretty big gang war if they assassinate the leader of the strongest Maggia faction in New York and engage in a gun duel with them. Unfortunately, I don't know who it is."

"Couldn't it be the Owl, or Fortunato?" Felicia asked, "The Owl is still new and might try something that isn't very smart and Fortunato has had some problems with Silvermane's organization in the past."

"No, it can't be them," Spider-Man shook his head, "The Owl maybe knew, but he isn't completely stupid, and he's currently behind bars, although, only for drug distribution, and his lawyers got his time cut down to only a year. And while Fortunato has had some troubles with Silvermane, it's never been enough to make him want to fight Silvermane and the Maggia. The only one who would ever want to go about doing something like this would be the Kingpin, but Osborn got him out of power and replaced him with the Owl."

There was a short silence for a few moments before Spider-Man began speaking again.

"I need to know who this is, if only to keep this city calm and peaceful," Spider-Man said slowly, "I need to know who is muscling his way into New York."

"And you want me to do the dirty work?" Felicia asked.

"You deal more often with these guys in more ways then I do," Spider-Man answered, "Part of your work with the 'Cat's Eye' and all that. I assumed you'd be able to get the information I need to put a stop to all of this."

"I can," Felicia answered, "you should know that much. Is that all you needed to know?"

Spider-Man nodded and walked back to the window.

"Thanks Felicia," Spider-Man said as he crawled out through the window.

"Don't mention it, Spider," Felicia answered with a smile.

Spider-Man then fired out a webline, and swung away.

**Avengers** **Tower**

"So how did your lesson go?" Aunt May asked as Mary Jane walked into the TV room where Aunt May was busy working on the newspaper crossword while listening to a late night news program, which was still talking about the death of Silvermane.

"Better," Mary Jane answered, "Jessica says I've mastered releasing my pheromones, but I could still use more practice in stopping that process."

"So long as you're making progress," Aunt May answered.

"So, have these guys found any reasonable answers as to who might have killed Silvermane?" Mary Jane asked as she looked at the television.

"Other then saying it was a mob hit by some other organization, no," Aunt May answered, which only made Mary Jane sigh.

"Great," Mary Jane sighed, "that narrows it down to a couple dozen if we're only talking the New York City area. Hopefully Felicia knows something."

"He actually trusts her?" Aunt May asked.

"As Peter's told you," Mary Jane answered, "Felicia is more involved in criminal world's business then most and therefore has useful information that can help in cases like this."

"That's what concerns me," Aunt May answered, "How can he trust her to actually help? And given their past together, why aren't you worried?"

"She actually helped him fight Osborn and thwart his plans when he kidnapped you, Aunt May," Mary Jane answered, "Felicia operates in a grey area that is hard to explain. Peter would actually a better job at that then me. But I do know she isn't evil."

"And you're not jealous that he's conversing with her, alone?" Aunt May asked.

"Felicia will probably tease him a bit, but she would never seriously do anything of that nature," Mary Jane answered, "And even if she did, Peter isn't one to go along willingly."

"Well it's good to see everyone trusts everyone," came Peter's voice from the doorway.

Mary Jane looked up to see that Peter had in fact returned. Except for his mask, he was still in his Spider-Man costume.

"You're back," Mary Jane spoke, "Everything go okay?"

Peter nodded slowly, "Largely. She doesn't know anything right now, but she said she'd look into it. For now our best option is to keep an eye out for anything that looks like it's related to organized crime, even while we're out on training sessions."

"Great," Mary Jane rumbled under her breath, "We aren't going to find anything, Peter. Not unless we run into those Enforcers again."

"I'm mostly hopping to try and prevent anymore gun battles like what happened yesterday from happening," Peter answered, "I'm hoping Felicia will find some important information."

**Mansion, Queens**

"Very well," a relatively elderly man sighed, "I'll be there."

"Who was that?" a large man, known as Jimmy Six asked from the other side of the desk.

"That was the bookkeeper who works for the Owl," Don Fortunato, the elderly man answered, "He wants all the gangs to hold a conference in order to discuss who whacked Silvermane yesterday."

"What about Silvermane's territory?" Jimmy Six answered, "I'm all for balance and all, but Silvermane's group isn't around any more. Bookkeeper will only try to let us ignore what happened to Silvermane's men and focus on this new guy."

"We may have to worry solely about this new guy," Don Fortunato said slowly, "He had Silvermane assassinated and attacked one of his warehouses, making sure that two thirds of his entire organization would be arrested. A very bold move, especially considering that the Owl would likely answer by trying to draw everyone together against him."

Jimmy Six looked on in silence.

"It is the sort of move that the Kingpin would made," Don Fortunato finished, "The Enforcers worked for him extensively when the Kingpin was still around."

"But Osborn had the Kingpin replaced with the Owl," Jimmy Six answered, "And his son is dead and his wife didn't want the Kingpin to be the Kingpin. I've heard she only wanted him to Fisk."

"Yes," Don Fortunato nodded, "But that doesn't mean that Fisk didn't train someone to replace him. Someone that he trusted."

"Who could he have trusted?" Jimmy Six questioned, "The man acquired great power, but was not one to really avoid making enemies in the process. He couldn't have trusted anyone to be his student."

"That we do not know," Don Fortunato answered, "Which is why we are going to attend the meeting. If the Kingpin has trained someone, we don't know who he is and if is smart enough to avoid the Kingpin's fate. We can not allow this man to simply defeat each individual organization one by one. We must stand together."

Jimmy Six only sighed then. He silently didn't like the Owl's system when it was set up. The Owl took the lion's share and then divided the remainders in a way that each gang would theoretically equal the Owl. Yet, no one was allowed to do anything out of their assigned area, and if that remained so, Silvermane's territory was now to either be vacant or given to the newcomer. Or the Owl would take it. Neither of these options really appealed Jimmy Six, but Fortunato was in charge, he had to follow his leader.

"Where is this meeting taking place?" Jimmy Six asked.

"The Owl's old offices downtown," Fortunato answered, "Tomorrow afternoon."

Neither of them noticed a shadowy figure vanish out of the room.

**Midtown High, the Next Day**

Flash still looked rather frustrated as he walked into the Midtown High School building. He couldn't believe that Spider-Man said he had amnesia, when it had been their first meeting, and what really frustrated him was that Peter agreed with him. Flash had been certain he didn't have amnesia, and he didn't like the fact almost everyone he'd met or talked to so far said he had amnesia. He felt grateful that Peter didn't teach today so he wouldn't be bothered by someone telling him he had lost his memory, because he was sure he remembered everything.

Unfortunately, in his sour mood, Flash wasn't entirely paying attention to where he was going and walked into someone coming around the corner of one of the building's hallways. The collision took both of them to the ground. Flash looked over to see he had practically run over a woman wearing an all white uniform.

"I'm sorry there," Flash spook weakly and moved to help her up, "You okay?"

"I'm fine," the woman answered as she brushed herself off, "You gotta pay attention to where you're going, you know."

"I'm sorry," Flash sighed, "My mind was on something else. Say I haven't seen you around before. Are you new?"

The woman nodded, "Yeah, you can call me Arrow. I'm the new school nurse."

"Arrow?" Flash asked, "Is that your first or last name?"

"First actually," Arrow answered.

"That's a weird name," Flash commented.

"My parents were hippies back in the sixties and never really left the sixties," Arrow replied, "May I ask who you are?"

"Flash Thompson, the gym teacher," Flash answered, fighting the urge to pose.

"Flash?" Arrow asked, "And you said my name was strange."

"It's a nickname," Flash explained, "My first name is Eugene, but that name is dull and boring. People started calling me Flash while I was in middle school for my abilities on almost any playing field you could image. I've kept it."

"I see," Arrow answered as she moved around him and began to head toward the nurse's office once more, "have a good day."

"You too," Flash answered as he watched her go, and then said to himself, "She's pretty cute."

**Hotel Room**

"The Owl's bookkeeper is calling for a great meeting in the Owl's offices," a man dressed entirely in black, "Supposedly this afternoon."

"Thank you, Nobody," Wilson Fisk answered, "I believe this may be our opportunity to regain control of New York crime."

"You want me to take care of them, Mr. Fisk?" Nobody asked.

"I will need you to keep an eye on the other gangs," Fisk ordered, "Crashing this party will involve more muscle then you can provide."

Nobody looked down, as if disappointed that he wouldn't get to be doing anything.

"Don't mope," Fisk growled, "When the leaders of these other gangs are taken care off, the other groups will be leaderless. I am expecting them to become very agitated and will do things that will put New York in chaos for a period of time. Making these other gangs submit to my authority will be the most important thing."

"You want me to take on every other gang in New York?" Nobody asked.

"I want you to insure that they do not unite against me," Fisk answered, "Other men who follow me will be at your disposal to make sure that the mission is a complete success. But you are to move flashpoint to flashpoint. If that organization appears to only be battling itself or with a different faction, other then our own, then leave them. If they make any move toward our men, take care of them."

"Thank you, Mr. Fisk," Nobody answered and then walked out of the room.

Fisk then sat down in his chair and smiled.

"This doesn't help capture Norman Osborn," a voice spoke from behind Fisk, "You should be focusing on him."

"I should expose myself to all the other criminal families to capture or kill Norman Osborn?" Fisk asked, "You do realize that Owl is the current 'Kingpin' because Osborn managed to get all the other families to support it?"

"Osborn's business with the various criminal families of New York is not my concern," the voice answered, "My only concern is the honor of my order, which Osborn disgraced by his own actions. We desire vengeance. Then you can fight with New York's criminals."

"Osborn is one of the few criminal geniuses in New York," Fisk answered angrily, "Silvermane, Don Fortunato, and myself being the others. He probably knows of your plans and is either hiding, waiting for you to tire of me, or is actively scheming to make sure the other gangs are waiting for me. The only way I can find and defeat him is to regain my power over New York Crime. And that is precisely what I will do. I am tired of your impatience. If you want vengeance against Osborn so swiftly that you'll risk complete defeat at the hands of his allies or New York's various heroes, then you'll have to do this on your own. I will wait until my organization is in a safer position. Once I am on top, I will be able to strike at Osborn with full force and little fear of major opposition."

"You said that when you had Silvermane assassinated," the voice countered, "you have made no progress in establishing that position."

"Rome wasn't built in a day, my friend," Fisk answered, "It takes time to build an empire."

"Just don't make this empire of yours take eternity to make," the voice warned, fading away it did so, "For as I've told you, my order could return you to where we found you."

**Elsewhere, Half an Hour Later**

Two men sat quietly inside an unmarked car that was in an alley watching a small office building like hawks.

"That's the Owl's offices?" one asked.

"That's where they're located," the other answered, "Spent a month working for him while the Kingpin was gone. All we need to do now is wait for all of the other crime lords to make their arrival, and then we call the Kingpin."

"You boys going somewhere?" a feminine voice asked from beside he driver's side window.

The two men looked over to see the Black Cat smiling at them by the wall of the building that was to the right of the car.

"Or are you looking for somebody?" Black Cat then asked as she approached the car.

Both the driver and the passenger in the car pulled out guns and aimed them at the Black Cat. Both then pulled the trigger. Black Cat ducked to avoid the bullets that would surely fly, but she never heard a single shot fired.

"Strange?" the driver commented, "I know these guns are loaded."

Black Cat stood up to the man lift gun, as if to look at the barrel. The gun then fired a bullet into the roof of the car. Black Cat took the surprise of the two crooks to deliver a punch through the driver's side window and knocked him out. The passenger panicked and moved to get out of the vehicle.

He didn't get far, as Black Cat leaped into the air and landed on his back, knocking him to the ground. He tried to fire his gun at the Black Cat, but again it acted as if there was no ammunition in it. She kicked the gun out of his hands and once it hit the ground, if fired a round into the side of the building.

"I can't believe this," the man almost whimpered as Black Cat stood over him, "You should have been shot. Twice!"

"Crossed a black cat," Black Cat smiled, "Seven years bad luck. Now, you might have some information for me."

"What information?" the man replied, "I don't know nothing."

"I doubt that some how," Black Cat answered, "I spent much of last night doing some digging around town and I found out some interesting things."

"Like what?" the man tried to sneer.

"Oh, like that an unknown group of men are working the underworld on the Owl's turf," Black Cat answered, "And that it isn't the biggest thing that I've heard in the past days. Silvermane's murder and all that."

"I didn't have anything to do with that," the man said as firmly as he could.

"Maybe so, but you do work for the Owl and you seem to be stacking out his old headquarters," Black Cat pointed out, "Now with Silvermane dead and his men out of the way, that can only mean that someone is trying to muscle in on his turf. Now, you don't suppose the Owl would be breaking his own treaty would he?"

"The Owl is behind bars, you know that," the man retorted.

"His bookkeeper then," Black Cat supplied then.

"No one in the Owl's organization is involved," the man growled defiantly.

"So, who are you and your buddy working for?" Black Cat asked.

"Why should I tell you?" the man asked back.

"A friend of mine swung by last night," Black Cat explained, "He doesn't like criminals and he wants to stop the criminal that is trying to muscle his way in. Unfortunately, he doesn't know who that is."

"I'm not going tell you," the man said.

"I'm not entirely found of criminals myself," Black Cat threatened, "I could leave you for the police… or dump you in the river… or claw your eyes out, that would actually go well with my name…"

The man paled at these 'threats'.

"Alright, I'll tell you," the man whimpered, "Don't hurt me."

"If these are the guys that are supposed to be taking over New York crime, then I don't know what's got Spider so upset," Black Cat thought as she smiled.

**Over Manhattan**

Spider-Man sat still on the side of one of Manhattan's many skyscrapers as Arachne shot a webline toward the building that he was on. He watched as she swung across the gap between the building she was on and the building that Spider-Man was crouching on. It didn't take her long to get to where Spider-Man was.

"So, how'd I do?" Arachne asked.

Spider-Man slowly moved down the wall to see where Arachne's webline had hit the building. He had secured a penny to the side of the building with his own webbing and had it set up as the target for Arachne to hit. What he saw made him smile; half of the penny was covered by Arachne's webline. As much as Arachne felt she wasn't ready, Spider-Man thought that she had made amazing progress.

"Very well, actually," Spider-Man told her, while smiling underneath his mask, "You've got more then half of the penny covered, which shows very good accuracy. You're really picking up on using your spider-sense."

"Shouldn't I be able to cover the entire penny?" Arachne asked.

"In terms of attaining perfection, yes," Spider-Man explained, "But remember, that this penny is very small and you almost one hundred yards away, and our arms have no extra aiming device on them. Being able to hit such a small target from a hundred yards with only your spider-sense to guide you shows vast improvement."

"Uh-huh," Arachne answered.

"I'm serious," Spider-Man answered, "You've made tremendous progress in controlling all your powers, especially considering how recently you got them."

"You're only saying that," Arachne answered.

"No I'm not," Spider-Man answered, "At this point in time, when I was still learning how to use my powers and had built my webshooters, I was still crashing INTO walls. You haven't hit a single one."

"As you've been fond of saying, 'I've had good teachers'," Arachne sighed, "I don't think that relates to my own skills."

"You're doing wonderfully," Spider-Man tried to comfort her and make her feel better when he saw something moving on the streets below.

It was a black car moving in the slow lane and headed south, and for some strange reason, its convertible roof was down. Spider-Man thought he saw the flashes of what looked like guns in their hands.

"Is it just me, or did those guys in that black car look like they were armed?" Spider-Man questioned.

"What black car?" Arachne asked, "I didn't see anything."

"That one," Spider-Man said as he pointed at it, "I thought I saw guns in it."

"Crooks are driving around in convertibles?" Arachne asked.

"We'd better follow them," Spider-Man said firmly and leaped over the edge of building and fired a webline to follow the car.

Arachne sighed and followed.

**The Owl's former offices**

The bookkeeper sighed as he entered the office that was being used for the New York Crime conference. A large round table had been set up for the various representatives of New York's various crime families. Present were Don Fortunato and his chief lieutenant Jimmy Six. The gangster Hammerhead along with a handful of his followers were also present. Bookkeeper also noticed that the heads of one or two of the smaller gangs were also present.

"I'm going to assume you all know why I've called you here," Bookkeeper said in a plain voice as he sat down, with two of his lieutenants standing behind him.

"Yes," Don Fortunato nodded, "The murder of Silvermane and the practical destruction of his organization."

"We must identify and counter whoever has caused this attack," Bookkeeper said in a firm voice, "Do any of you have any ideas as to who attacked Silvermane?"

"I heard it was you," Hammerhead spoke up, "You work for the Owl, and the Owl's the new 'Kingpin'. Seems to reason that you would try to recreate the old Kingpin's kingdom with the Owl at its head."

"I assure you, the Owl had nothing to do with the attack," Bookkeeper answered, "As a sign that we weren't, Hammerhead, since you command the only other branch of the Maggia in New York, Silvermane's territory is yours."

"Well," Hammerhead smiled, "It's good to see that you're so truthful, at least in ceding territory."

"Hey!" Jimmy Six growled, "We ain't here to divide up New York. We're here to deal with some invader."

"That is correct," Fortunato spoke up, "The issue of Silvermane's territory should be dealt with after this new guy is dead."

"Why shouldn't we argue about turf?" Hammerhead questioned, "Silvermane was Maggia, and I am the only other Maggia boss in New York."

"You command a different and smaller branch then Silvermane did," Fortunato answered, "And on top of it, the battle amongst ourselves would aide our opponent."

"In what way?" Bookkeeper asked, "If you know who he is, you should tell us."

"I do not know for sure who the attacker is, but I have certain suspicions," Fortunato began.

"Hey, we didn't start nothin'!" Hammerhead growled.

"Did I say it was you?" Fortunato questioned, "I just said I have suspicions. No one in this room is a suspect."

Bookkeeper nodded, "Which is very good to hear for everyone. Now, who do you suspect?"

"I believe that either the Kingpin, the OLD Kingpin, or at least someone who worked for him has come to New York," Fortunato spoke.

"The Kingpin?" Hammerhead laughed, "You have lost it in your old age, haven't you? Osborn messed up the Kingpin so much that he'll never come back!"

"Yes," Bookkeeper answered, "And replaced him with the Owl. The Kingpin can't come back."

"Can't I?" said a firm and almost aristocratic sounding voice said from the door.

The entire group turned to see Wilson Fisk and several armed men standing in the doorway. Fisk held his trademark cane in one hand with a triumphant look on his face.

"Kingpin!" Hammerhead gasped as he stood up, reaching for a Thompson submachine gun that he kept with him at almost all times.

"Please, that isn't necessary," Fisk said confidently, "Especially as it will only lead to your demise."

Jimmy Six and the smaller gang leaders drew weapons and made them clearly visible to Fisk.

"You sure it ain't your demise that is about to occur?" Jimmy Six questioned.

Suddenly the wall behind Hammerhead partially collapsed as Ox punched his way through it. Montana, Fancy Dan and more gunmen employed by Fisk followed. Hammerhead's lieutenants were taken completely by surprise and knocked out swiftly. Fisk raised his cane and fired a small electric jolt from it, knocking Jimmy Six to the ground.

"Positive," Fisk smiled.

The gunmen around Fisk then opened fire, killing the smaller gang leaders almost instantly. Two of Fisk's gunmen then rushed forward and made sure that Bookkeeper couldn't escape. Fisk meanwhile stepped forward and lifted Fortunato into the air. The elderly man could barely struggle against Fisk's grip.

"No cameras," Fisk said with a smile.

"Put him down!" Hammerhead threatened as he leaped onto the table and aimed his machine gun at Fisk.

Hammerhead didn't get the chance to carry out his threat as Montana's whip suddenly wrapped around the barrel of Hammerhead's gun. When Montana pulled the gun out of Hammerhead's hands, Hammerhead was forced to spin around, only to be shot in the chest by Fancy Dan.

"You won't get away with this," Fortunato growled Fisk, although he was struggling for breath.

"I believe I already have," Fisk smiled, "Your son is out cold. Hammerhead is dead, dying, or seriously wounded, and Owl's bookkeeper isn't going anywhere."

"Killing us will only create more problems for you," Fortunato said weakly.

"To be honest, I was hoping not to kill anyone," Fisk replied, "And you and your son still have a chance to walk out of here alive and unharmed, at least no further then you already have."

"And what more then everything must my organization give up to get you to do that?" Fortunato questioned.

"You allow me to return to my position of power, and your current territories will be left alone," Fisk said calmly, "I will not strike against them, and I will see to it that your organization is protected."

Fortunato was silent for a moment.

"Or I could strangle you now, kill your son and leave your organization to be destroyed," Fisk warned.

"Fine," Fortunato said weakly, "Fine. We'll leave you alone."

"What!" Bookkeeper screamed, "You can't do that! The Owl's treaty!"

"Is nothing," Fisk answered, "The minor gang leaders are dead. Hammerhead is dead or wounded, either way, he isn't moving. If Fortunato sticks to the Owl's little solidarity movement, he knows he's dead and then his entire organization will go to me."

Fisk then let Fortunato go.

"You've know learned that collective security is not something that can be done in organized crime," Fisk said with a cruel smile, "Ox, help Fortunato get Jimmy Six to his car."

"Yeah, boss," Ox answered.

"What do you intend to do with me?" Bookkeeper asked as Fisk approached, while Ox followed Fortunato out with Jimmy Six over his shoulder.

"You are to make a little announcement throughout the underworld," Fisk said in a calm voice, "And deliver a message to the Owl."

**Over Manhattan**

The black convertible that Spider-Man and Arachne made a sudden turn and began to head west all of a sudden. It was so sudden in fact, that both Spider-Man and Arachne had to turn around to get back to the corner that the car had turned.

"I still don't see any guns in that car, but I think you're right that something's up with it," Arachne commented, "He was almost halfway across the road when he turned."

"Someone called the driver," Spider-Man replied, "He picked up a cellphone shortly before he made the turn."

Spider-Man and Arachne continued to slowly follow the car as it made its way around Manhattan. It eventually stopped outside a small restaurant that seemed to be closed at the moment. Both heroes landed and crouched on the wall of the restaurant. No one in the car bothered to look up.

"What are we doing up here?" Arachne whispered.

"We got to make sure they're going to do something," Spider-Man answered.

Both then looked down to see a man dressed entirely in black seemingly appear out of nowhere and stand beside the convertible. All the men in the car then got out and produced small submachine guns.

"The boss's plan has gone down," Nobody told the other men around, "Now, we must make sure that every other group will be quiet and obedient."

"Of course, sir," the first man said.

"Is anyone inside?" Nobody asked.

Bullets then came flying out from the door that led into the restaurant as a small group of men came running out. The men in the car then dove behind it as the bullets bounced off of the metal sides of the vehicle. Nobody seemed to vanish into thin air.

"Okay," Spider-Man said as he leaped down toward the fight, "They did something."

Spider-Man dove down, fists first toward the people who came charging out of the restaurant. Two were quickly defeated as he slammed their heads together and then flipped onto the hood of the convertible.

"It's Spider-Man!" one of the remaining two men said in shocked surprise.

"So?" Spider-Man questioned as he covered their guns in webbing, "Are you announcing that I'm here, or did I just surprise you?"

"Why you…" the second man growled and lunged forward.

Spider-Man responded by leaping over the man, kicking him in the back as he did so. The blow knocked the man face first into side of the convertible. He fell to the ground unconscious shortly after. Spider-Man, meanwhile, was propelled forward toward the other man, whom he hit with a powerful punch that threw him against the wall of the warehouse. Spider-Man wiped his hands together as he saw the man fall unconscious.

Arachne landed feet first on one of gangsters crouching behind the convertible. The sudden impact of her weight took the man to the ground and knocked him unconscious. She then whirled around and caught a second man with a powerful crossing punch. With nearly all her strength behind the blow, the man flew sideways about two feet before landing unconscious on the concrete.

The other two men quickly pulled out hand guns and fired on Arachne. Unfortunately for them, her spider-sense warned her of danger and she was already crouching on the side of the building that the convertible was parked directly in front of. By the time they could move their arms to aim again, Arachne had wrapped the two guns in webbing and pulled them out of their hands. Both men's faces paled when Arachne literally crushed the weapons in her hands.

"Oh, come on," Arachne taunted from her place on the wall, "Don't tell me you're afraid without your guns."

The two men got up to run, only to be clubbed from behind by Spider-Man.

"I'm gonna guess these guys work with the group that attacked Silvermane," Arachne commented as she leaped down to help Spider-Man web up the unconscious crooks.

"If they are, this guy is expanding his targets," Spider-Man answered her as he webbed up the four men that had come out of the restaurant, "These guys work for Hammerhead, not Silvermane."

"Who was that guy in black?" Arachne asked, "He vanished just as these Hammerhead guys came running out."

"Oh, Nobody," came a voice from the doorway of the restaurant.

That made both Arachne and Spider-Man look up to see the same man, dressed entirely in black, standing under the thrown open door of the restaurant. He held two automatic pistols and had them aimed at the two heroes.

"Now I should thank you for helping me do my job by taking out these guys," Nobody commented with a chuckle, "But my boss will be pretty upset if half his guys go to jail too."

"And just who is your boss?" Spider-Man questioned, "Because I intend to send him to jail too!"

Nobody answered by firing a series of shots at both Spider-Man and Arachne. Spider-Man leaped up onto the wall of the restaurant while Arachne did a back flip and crouched behind the convertible.

"You're gonna have to do better then that," Spider-Man taunted while aiming his wrists downward, intending to web up Nobody when he stepped out of the restaurant and onto the street.

"Look out, Spider-Man!" Arachne screamed from her position on the street at the same moment.

Spider-Man looked up and behind him to see Nobody standing on the roof above him. His spider-sense went off at the same moment and he leaped from the wall onto the other building. Arachne, meanwhile, fired weblines from her position intending to grab hold of Nobody's guns. Nobody only vanished after firing his missed shots at Spider-Man, and Arachne's weblines flew harmlessly into air above the building.

Suddenly, Arachne felt her spider-sense go off behind her and she turned to throw a punch and duck down to avoid being shot. As she did so, she saw Nobody for a few seconds, but he vanished again before her fist could connect with him, although he never got a shot off. Arachne then crawled up the side of the building to join Spider-Man on the roof.

"The guy's a teleporter," Spider-Man commented, "He has to be. It's the only explanation for his ability to vanish and then appear somewhere else. I thought he just became invisible when he first vanished, but he just appeared behind me, and appeared behind you and then vanished when you went to hit him."

"His reflexes are quick too," Arachne nodded, "He vanished just as quickly as he appeared."

Both then felt their spider-senses go off as two bullets narrowly missed. They turned to see Nobody standing on the other end of the roof. He fired two more shots at the two heroes.

"Can we avoid the dissection of my powers and get to the part where you die?" Nobody questioned, sounding frustrated that neither of his opponents really sounded afraid.

Arachne dodged to a side and fired another webline at Nobody, again hoping to yank his guns out of his hands. Nobody again vanished from sight, avoiding the weblines, which wrapped around the sides of the building's lightning rod. Nobody then appeared behind Arachne and brought the barrel of his pistol down on her head before she could dodge.

The blow forced Arachne to the ground, but it didn't really hurt, it stung a little bit, but did not entirely hurt. It took her a second or two to remember that with her enhanced strength, a person whose strength was that of a normal human being was no longer dangerous to her. Her spider-sense continued to buzz as she rolled to avoid being shot at point blank range, Nobody's shots going harmlessly into the roof.

"I'm really getting tired of you," Arachne growled as she tried to web him up again, this time aiming for his feet.

Nobody only vanished and appeared again next to Arachne.

"My sentiments exactly," Nobody said in a threatening voice.

Arachne drove her elbow into Nobody's chest as soon as her spider-sense warned her of his presence. The blow knocked him to the ground and she soon turned to stand over him. But, Nobody vanished again before she could do anything more. He reappeared to grab his guns and then vanished again.

Nobody appeared again, this time across the roof from Arachne. He raised his gun to fire, only to be tackled from the side by Spider-Man. He managed to destroy one of Nobody's two guns before the villain vanished again.

"This guy is teleporting away and back at well," Spider-Man grumbled, "Almost at the same instant we seem to gain the upper hand in the fight."

"Thank goodness teleportation is his only power then," Arachne answered, "Otherwise we might be in real trouble."

"Teleportation…" Spider-Man mused for a moment.

"What?" Arachne asked as her spider-sense went off indicating that Nobody had returned.

The two leaped back down to the street level while Nobody's shots harmlessly hit the roof.

"If his only power is teleportation, all we need to do is use our spider-sense as a weapon," Spider-Man explained, "It'll warn us of his presence before he's truly ready to take his shoot. If we use it as a guide as to where to attack, we should be able to force him to retreat or at least get shot on him."

Nobody once again appeared in the doorway of the restaurant and fired at both Spider-Man and Arachne. Arachne flipped back onto the wall of the building that they had just leaped off of while Spider-Man jumped over the course of the bullets and toward Nobody. Nobody vanished however before Spider-Man arrived. He reappeared on the hood of the convertible with his gun aimed at Arachne.

Arachne leaped from the building just as he appeared, and before Nobody could fire she kicked his gun out of his hands and flipped to land on the sidewalk. Nobody frantically turned to see Spider-Man catch and crush his gun in his hands.

"You're beaten now," Spider-Man said.

"No!" Nobody screamed, almost as if he couldn't believe it and vanished from sight.

Spider-Man's spider-sense then went off and he whirled and caught Nobody's fist, as if the guy was now resorting to punches. He then threw Nobody towards the convertible. The disappeared before he could make impact. Both Spider-Man and Arachne could hear him it the roof above them, as even his teleportation could not stop his momentum or change the way he was oriented.

"You haven't seen the last of me!" Nobody vowed.

"That's what I was afraid of," Spider-Man grumbled, "Another useless foe to fight."

"Useless?" Arachne asked, "He had us fighting around this entire area. He's put bullet holes in the walls of two buildings, and if it weren't for our spider-sense we'd probably be dead by now."

"Makes you glad you have it," Spider-Man commented.

Arachne sighed, "Yeah, but wouldn't this be considered reckless if we have to rely solely on one thing in a fight? From what you've told me, Cap doesn't get himself into these sorts of situations."

"Cap also has a shield that can't be pierced by bullets," Spider-Man answered, "and I'm again going to say that you're making great progress with using your spider-sense."

Arachne only sighed.

"Thanks," she said simply.

**Avengers** **Tower**

Both Spider-Man and Arachne agreed to end their training session with a return to the Avengers Tower. Arachne was relatively quiet the whole way. She wondered how Spider-Man could dismiss Nobody so quickly. True, he couldn't really get a clear shot at either of them because of their spider-sense and once he lost his guns he became desperate, it had been a relatively close fight up until that point. She guessed that it was mostly Spider-Man's greater experience that was talking in that situation and that in the future she might find herself saying the same thing.

As they entered through one of the Avengers Tower windows they were greeted by both Aunt May and the Black Cat in the hallway before either could remove their mask.

"I'm sorry, she just showed up about half an hour ago, and insisted that she needed to speak with you two," Aunt May said as she kept an eye on Black Cat.

"Hey there Spider, Red," Black Cat said politely, "Anything exciting go on today?"

"Red?" Arachne asked, recognizing the 'nickname' that Felicia occasionally used to refer to her.

"She knows, MJ," Spider-Man said as he took off his mask.

"How?" Mary Jane asked as she pulled her mask down.

"Had to make sure that your husband was remaining faithful," Black Cat said with a smirk, "Spider-Man and Arachne have seemed awfully close in the couple of Bugle photos that I've seen them in, so I've been following you around. You've done a good job at disguising your voice. It took me a while to figure it out."

"I never noticed you were there," Mary Jane said in a surprised tone, "I've gained my own spider-sense as a result of all of this, and more then half the time, Peter was with me. One of us should have noticed that we were being followed."

"I wasn't following you as the Black Cat," Black Cat answered, "You wouldn't believe the looks I got from some people as I ran along various streets."

"How could you have heard me talking?" Mary Jane asked, "Peter and I had to be ten stories up when you were doing this."

"I was only able to hear you when you found some crook trying to hurt someone," Black Cat smirked, "That's why it took me a while."

Mary Jane still looked rather surprised at all of this. She was certain that she would have to reveal herself to Felicia eventually, but she didn't think that she would deduce who Arachne was on her own.

"Don't worry," Black Cat said as she put a hand on Mary Jane's shoulder, "I meant nothing intrusive by what I did. You'll find that the longer these things go on, sometimes you'll be amazed by what strange things you'll believe."

"I can already believe quite a bit," Mary Jane answered.

Black Cat nodded, "You look good in that, by the way. Not exactly the design I would have chosen, but you look good in it."

"Thanks," Mary Jane said politely, "I take it your visit isn't a social call, since you're here as the Black Cat and not as Felicia."

"They wouldn't let Felicia in," Black Cat almost pouted, "I had to give the Avengers security system its greatest test."

"You didn't break in?" Peter asked.

"No one answered the doorbell," Black Cat answered and quickly brought the discussion to what she had originally come to the Avengers Tower for, "And yes, I'm here on business."

"You've found out who this new guy muscling his way into New York?" Peter asked.

"Well, yes, but I'm not entirely sure 'new' would be the best word to describe him," Black Cat answered slowly.

"What is it?" Mary Jane asked.

"Who is it?" Peter corrected.

"It's Wilson Fisk," Black Cat said slowly, "He's back."

**To Be Continued… **


	3. Cat’s Out of the Bag

All characters appearing in Spider-Man are copyrighted to Marvel Entertainment and Stan Lee. No infringement of these copyrights is intended, and is not authorized by the copyright holder. All original characters are the property of TVfan.

Note: this story is a sequel to my "A New Life" story, and begins a few days after it.

All the King's Men

By TVfan

**Chapter 3: Cat's Out of the Bag**

**Avenger's Tower**

"Fisk?" Peter asked in a shocked voice, "THE Kingpin?"

Felicia slowly nodded.

"How?" Peter asked, "How did he come back? Osborn did his job behind the scenes well enough that Fisk couldn't come back."

"I don't know," Felicia answered, "The guy practically fainted on me. I was lucky to get the fact that it is Fisk out of him."

There was a short silence as Peter looked down, as if deep in thought or in deep regret, while Felicia and Mary Jane stood by. Felicia eventually broke the silence.

"So, how has life in spandex been going for you, Red?" Felicia asked with somewhat curious smirk.

Mary Jane sighed and shrugged. The conversation didn't sound entirely appropriate, considering that one of her husband's biggest enemies was not only back but had launched a fairly massive operation to take over New York crime, but her transformation from Mary Jane Watson: actress/model/wife to Arachne was still very sudden and most of the people who already knew Peter's identity as Spider-Man would all be intrigued by this new development. Although most of the others were members of Peter's extensive rogue's gallery and would be more surprised then interested.

"Fine, I guess," Mary Jane replied, "It's all still very new to me and I'm still learning."

"From some of the stuff that I've seen while following you around, I'd think you've learned all you need to know," Felicia told her.

"I'm not as good as Peter, though, and there are still a lot of things that I haven't mastered," Mary Jane answered.

"That's only because he's had more practice," Felicia answered, "Running around in your underwear from age fifteen on does that."

Mary Jane slowly nodded, not wanting an argument.

"I'm sure," Mary Jane sighed, "But for right now, I don't think this should be our major focus."

"Yeah, the Kingpin," Felicia nodded, "You two both know that I'll do whatever I can to help right? Any information you need, I can get it, but I'll save most of the super villain fighting to you two."

Peter nodded, "Yeah, we know. If you could find out where Fisk is hiding out right now, that would be helpful."

Felicia put her mask back on and moved to the window that Peter and Mary Jane had come through earlier.

"Consider it done, Spider," Black Cat answered and fired out her grappling cable and swung away.

"So what do we do to stop Fisk?" Mary Jane asked, "I'll assume that he's looking to take over New York crime again."

"Best option would be to simply patrol and stop his goons before they assassinate the other crime families in New York," Peter sighed, "It'll mean that a lot of your training will be 'field work'."

"I think I'm starting to get used to it," Mary Jane sighed.

Peter then moved as if he was going to punch the wall and looking fairly frustrated.

"I can't believe we're having to protect mobsters," Peter sighed, "The superheroes in the comics I read as a kid never had to do these sorts of things."

"We're in the real world, tiger," Mary Jane reminded him, "These things happen."

**Hotel Room**

Nobody flew threw the air and smacked into the hotel wall with a resounding 'crack' and slumped to the floor. He soon heard the sound of footsteps approaching him.

"You were not to go after this city's various vigilantes," Fisk growled as he lifted the man into the air.

"I didn't go after them," Nobody said quickly, "They jumped me after I moved to take of one of the groups that wasn't gonna listen to you."

"And you couldn't teleport yourself and my men away?" Fisk questioned, "You had to fight them?"

"I thought I could take care of them," Nobody whimpered.

"Fine job," Fisk growled, "You wasted precious ammunition which will not be easy for me to replace and you got all of my men arrested. You should have taken them away and let Spider-Man and his partner take the car."

"It's not my fault," Nobody whimpered, "I had them, but they seemed to know when I was going to attack and where I was attacking from."

"Spider-Man has always displayed the ability to avoid taking the worst blows an opponent throws at him," Fisk answered, "And according to the rumors I've heard about Arachne, she has a similar ability."

Fisk then threw Nobody into a chair on the other side of the room. Thankfully, Nobody only knocked the chair over. Fisk then walked towards Nobody slowly.

"Don't kill me!" Nobody pleaded.

"At the present time, I do not posses the man power to kill employees who fail me," Fisk growled, "Be thankful for that. You can also be thankful that the primary operation was successful and your failure is of little consequence."

"Thank you," Nobody said very quickly.

"You will of course be punished for your failure," Fisk reminded him in a frighteningly firm voice, "Don't assume that because you won't be killed you won't be punished."

Nobody gulped.

"Now, get out of my sight," Fisk growled, "I have a meeting to attend."

"Yes, sir," Nobody said submissively and ran out.

Almost as soon as he left a small group of men in suits entered. They were the ones who Fisk had in charge of the operation to pacify those that resisted his return to power. Nobody was a field commander, but these men were the ones who were directly over Nobody's head. Each man nervously looked at the damage that Nobody's body had caused by being thrown against various objects and walls. Each man then gulped knowing that Fisk was capable of doing that to people. They then brought over or righted the chairs that were around the main desk that Fisk had had set up.

"Report," Fisk ordered as they sat down.

"Other then an altercation between Spider-Man and Arachne and one of my teams, everything in my sector went off smoothly," the first lieutenant reported, and then looked around at the room again, "Which I will assume, this is about?"

"Nobody is to be given extremely trivial tasks for the next month," Fisk answered, "I can't trust him with anything important. I'll contact you later when I've thought of his punishment."

"Yes, sir," the first lieutenant answered.

Fisk then turned his attention to the second man.

"Hells kitchen didn't even have any resistance," the second lieutenant answered, "I think Daredevil frightened the Owl's men. Half of them even volunteered to join us. I told them that that would require your approval."

"I'll deal with that later," Fisk sighed and turned to the third man.

"My sector was also no serious problem," the third lieutenant answered, "One or two guys put up some resemblance of a fight, but we suffered no fatalities."

"Any injured?" Fisk asked.

"One had a shot graze his thigh, nothing more serious then that," the third lieutenant answered.

"My sector was a bit tougher," the fourth and final lieutenant sighed, "One was killed and the other two were wounded. I'm currently having some legal teams working to make sure the wounded do not see jail time."

"Good," Fisk answered, "Was the mission successful?"

"Yes," the fourth lieutenant answered, "But we won't be able to do anything major for awhile."

Fisk nodded, "I don't anticipate that the regular tools at my disposal will be involved in much work in the upcoming series of events."

"What's next, Kingpin?" the first lieutenant asked.

"Now that Manhattan Crime is back under MY thumb, we must now fulfill our bargain with our silent partner in the shadows," Fisk answered, "We must now prepare to make our move against the Green Goblin."

"The original, or one of the copycats?" the second lieutenant answered, "I think there have been four Green Goblins over the years, not counting Norman Osborn."

"We move against the original," Fisk answered, "The only one of them worthy of calling himself the 'Green Goblin'."

"What are we to do?" the third lieutenant asked.

"Most of your operations will be limited to watching and looking," Fisk answered, "I would prefer that people in my employ with superhuman abilities to fight with Osborn, just in case he is expecting to be attacked."

"Most of the superhuman crooks in the organized crime business aren't strong enough to take Osborn in alive," the fourth lieutenant pointed out, "They'd have to try and kill him."

"We can pool our forces to do our part of the work," Fisk answered, "Besides dealing with Osborn will not solely be limited to men directly under my employ."

"Sir?" the first lieutenant asked.

"The most important task for you is to let the other Crime families know that there is now a bounty on Norman Osborn's head," Fisk said slowly, "He is to brought to me, alive, for a sum of one hundred twenty-five thousand dollars. And it will increase the longer the bounty remains uncollected."

"Let the other families kill themselves fighting Osborn?" the second lieutenant asked.

Fisk smiled, "Of course."

"What if Osborn is captured by the authorities?" the first lieutenant asked, "Or by Spider-Man? They aren't going to bring him to you to collect the bounty, even if they were crooked. Osborn's too big a name in the criminal world."

"Then I'd assume that our silent partner would be able to deal with him just as easily," Fisk answered, "Now, go off and see that the bounty is placed on Osborn's head."

"Yes sir," the four lieutenants spoke in unison and hurried out of the room.

Once the door shut, Fisk heard the voice of his 'silent partner' that he had gotten incredibly used to.

"It is good that you are finally getting to dealing with your part of our bargain," the voice spoke slowly, "I am surprised that you knew I was here."

"And I am shocked that you're surprised," Fisk answered, "You are rarely gone long enough for me to ever think you are gone."

The voice was silent for a moment.

"And I would have thought that you'd be happy that I've acquired the position and strength that will be needed to hunt down Osborn," Fisk commented.

"My organization will be pleased to hear that you are finally honoring your bargain," the voice answered.

Fisk left the voice's discussion at that before he decided to ask a question.

"So what will your organization do if Spider-Man or the authorities take in Osborn?" Fisk questioned, "You've said that in the end you want him dead, and from what I've heard he should be facing the death penalty."

"Is to be killed by our hand," the voice answered, "Osborn would find some way to escape the authorities before his execution, and Spider-Man would not kill someone unless enraged, and even then the desired outcome is uncertain."

Fisk was quiet for a moment before speaking, "That could complicate matters. Neither Spider-Man nor the authorities would approve of my capturing Osborn."

"And why not?" the voice asked, "He is enemies of both of them."

"Yes, but I am also enemies of both of them," Fisk answered, "And it is not likely that they know that Osborn is to turned over to you for execution. They will likely think I'm seeking to ally myself with Osborn."

"Just see to it that Osborn is captured," the voice answered, "Remember, that what we give, we can take away as well."

The voice faded away towards the end of his warning, meaning that he had left for the time being. Fisk merely sighed and looked over to paperwork that he had to do to try and set up a legitimate business, under a false name, so that that he would be anonymous.

**Avengers Tower, That Night**

Peter and Mary Jane sat quietly in bed watching the news on the television that was kept in their room. The program had only just started and the main topics of the day were being introduced. Mary Jane was looking through the newspaper, trying to see if there were any theaters that were advertising auditions, but with no luck. Peter, meanwhile, was entirely focused on the television screen. The news, be it televised or in print had been one of his many ways of keeping tabs on the various events in New York that required Spider-Man's attention. Especially because the reporters were able to cover a large section of New York, which he, usually on his own, couldn't cover in the same amount of time.

"Our main story tonight revolves around recent developments in the recent incidences of 'gang warfare' in Manhattan," the reporter began, "As you know, the crime lord known as Silvermane has recently been assassinated."

The reporter made a brief pause.

"This afternoon, something else has happened that has dramatically changed the criminal underworld, that he NYPD and New York's resident superheroes have so valiantly tried to fight," the reporter continued, "In offices that were used by the criminal known as the Owl, eight men were found in varying degrees of injury."

Peter kept watching, while Mary Jane put the paper she was looking at down.

"Three were confirmed shot dead," the reporter announced, "Four were found knocked unconscious. The eighth person was seriously wounded and was rushed to Manhattan General Hospital under police escort. It is the identity of the wounded man that is raising questions about the current state of affairs involving the New York underworld."

The screen showed the image of Hammerhead as the reporter continued.

"This time, the victim is the criminal commonly known as Hammerhead," the reporter spoke, "We know go live to the scene with Harold Jo."

"Thank you," Harold Jo, the on scene reporter, answered, "The attempt on Hammerhead's life is raising some complexities on the New York Criminal underworld. Shortly after the murder of Silvermane, it was suspected that Hammerhead orchestrated the murder. This incident has changed that. Police experts say that it is too soon for Silvermane's branch of the Maggia to recover from the blow they were recently delivered to attempt to assassinate Hammerhead."

Harold Jo then paused and turned toward the chalk outlines of those who were killed.

"Also, is the fact that neither Hammerhead or any of the members of his gang killed," Harold Jo continued, "While Hammerhead is currently in critical condition, his lieutenants were taken unconscious and are currently in police custody. There has been no word as to whether or not they are being questioned. In addition to this, it appears that Hammerhead was in the middle of some kind of summit, as all of the criminals that were found dead belonged to two other crime families."

"Have the police discovered anything as to who caused this recent attack?" the studio reporter asked.

"It is unknown at the present time," Harold Jo answered, "Their best guess is that the person who organized the assassination of Silvermane also masterminded this incident, but they are still unsure. For all we know we could have multiple new criminal factions moving into the city."

Peter couldn't stand to let the report go on any longer and turned it off. Mary Jane looked at him with a concerned look on her face.

"Peter?" Mary Jane asked slowly.

"We failed, MJ," Peter sighed, almost sounding defeated, "The Kingpin had to have been behind this attack and we failed to stop him He's taken over his criminal empire, once more."

"We don't know that for sure," Mary Jane answered, "and they said that this happened this afternoon. If I recall, we were out chasing after some guy calling himself 'Nobody' at the time. There is no way we could have known."

That didn't help Peter very much.

"Besides, we only just found out about Fisk coming back," Mary Jane added, "He couldn't have just beaten you like that."

"He may have simply found a way to get what he wanted without risking a real fight, MJ," Peter answered with a sigh, "It happens from time to time. Which means that I've failed."

"You shouldn't try to be responsible for everything," Mary Jane said, "It's not your fault that Fisk is doing this, and you'll end up putting him away sooner or later, anyway."

"I hope so, MJ," Peter answered, "I really hope so."

**New York State Penitentiary**

The Owl was quiet as he walked into the prison's cafeteria. His plea bargain allowed him to go to the prison of his choice and to be given preferential treatment and the least serious criminal charges possible. On top of that, S.H.I.E.L.D. would keep an eye out to make sure that the Absorbing Man didn't find him.

Fortunately for him, he got what he wanted, but the Owl, still, was not really a happy camper. While he wanted the protection from the Absorbing Man, he didn't want to go to jail. And while he was given certain benefits that other prisoners were not given, he still had only what was good enough for the other prisoners, including food. He didn't get what he wanted, but only the standard issue food of the American prison system. Which meant no mice and not other foods that the Owl liked.

He had just set his tray down when one of the guards tapped his shoulder with his nightstick.

"Yes, sir?" the Owl answered, trying to be polite.

"You have a visitor," the guard answered.

"I was not aware that visiting hours started already this morning," the Owl answered.

"The normal visiting hours haven't," the guard sneered, and then spoke as if he was talking to a troubled child, "But your special conditions allow you to have special hours."

The Owl sighed and stood up. He didn't approve of the guard's tone, but there was nothing he could do about it.

"Very well," the Owl sighed and began to follow the guard, who silently began walking to the presently empty visiting center.

Upon arriving at the visiting center, the Owl was surprised to see his Bookkeeper waiting on the other side of the glass. It made him slightly nervous, as the Bookkeeper was under strict orders not to come unless there was something serious going on.

"Sir," Bookkeeper began, "We've had some problems."

"What is it?" the Owl demanded.

"The Kingpin," Bookkeeper answered, "Fisk is back and he's looking to take control over Manhattan Crime."

"What?!" the Owl gasped in surprise.

"Yes, and he's actually done quite well," Bookkeeper answered weakly, "He busted up a meeting that I was trying to hold to formulate a plan to defeat him."

"Wait a minute," the Owl growled, "How is the Kingpin back? Daredevil left Fisk blind and Osborn worked from behind the scenes to make sure that he could never return to any position of power."

"We don't know," Bookkeeper answered, "I don't think anybody does. But whatever problems he had, they aren't there any more. He looked quite healthy when he broke up the meeting."

"A blind person can not regain their sight," the Owl answered.

"Well, he could see well enough to hit Jimmy Six with that electric cane of his," Bookkeeper answered.

The Owl slammed his fists down on the table.

"All my hard work ruined!" the Owl tried his best not to scream, "Someone has to be helping him? Who is it?"

"We don't know," Bookkeeper answered, "He's done a good job at making sure that we can't fight back against him. A preemptive strike, if you will. And he had most of the major figures in New York Crime at his mercy when he busted up the meeting I had called. I'm afraid that Fisk has already regained his position as the Kingpin of Crime."

The Owl looked as if he was ready to kill something.

"Why are you bothering to tell me this?" the Owl grumbled, "It is infuriating that I've lost what I so rightfully deserved, but with being incarcerated and all, I expected my 'empire' to collapse."

"Actually, I'm here on the behest of the Kingpin," Bookkeeper answered, "I believe he's seeking vengeance against you, and has essentially told me to tell you that he will be waiting for you."

"He's made this thing personal, eh?" the Owl asked.

"Yes sir," Bookkeeper answered.

"You said that some of the major crime leaders were at this meeting?" the Owl questioned.

"Yes, most of them," Bookkeeper answered, "He's already orchestrated the murder of Silvermane, and most of the Maggia in New York is in shambles."

"Were any of the minor families there?" the Owl asked.

"A couple," Bookkeeper answered, "Unfortunately they were the ones killed in Fisk's attack."

"On the contrary," the Owl answered, "this is very fortunate."

"Sir?" Bookkeeper asked.

"If Fisk wants to make this personal, we'll give him a fight he won't be able to recover from," the Owl answered, "Gather up the groups of the minor crime families that lost their leaders in the Kingpin's attack. Tell them that they have to FIGHT the Kingpin."

"Sir, they're mostly fighting with each other or amongst themselves to settle leadership or territory," Bookkeeper answered, "They're not going to let me take charge to lead them in a fight against the Kingpin. Especially when we don't know where he is presently operating from."

"Your mission is unchanged," the Owl answered, "Get them to settle on a leader and advice them to make strikes against Fisk's goons. I am not to be treated as some sort of upstart."

"Yes, sir," Bookkeeper sighed and then got up and left.

Once the door on the visitor's side of the visitors area shut, the guard entered the prisoners side once again.

"Have a good chat?" the guard asked.

The Owl didn't answer.

"Come on, now," the guard ordered, "You have fifteen minutes to eat breakfast. Then its back to your cell."

**Cat's Eye**

Felicia sighed as she looked over some of the various pieces of paperwork that she had to fill out to keep her office, the Cat's Eye, open. Most of it was bureaucratic type forms involving the renewal of her license, but it was nothing. She was slightly tired though, as her efforts the night before to find information for Spider-Man about the Kingpin hadn't led to much more then a one or two passed out crooks whom she left in an alley somewhere, and had probably gotten back to their boss by now.

She sighed as she heard the main door to her office open. While she didn't have any official clients at the moment, her work for Spider-Man at the moment made it impossible for her to take on a job for anyone else. She slowly got up and walked towards the door that led into a small waiting room.

As she came out, she was quickly grabbed from the side and lifted into the air. She turned her head to see the Ox gripping her arm and holding her up. Montana and Fancy Dan were also present. Without bothering to say a word, Felicia kicked Ox in the face, knocking him over and forcing him to let go of her. She then vaulted over the desk that she used to talk to potential clients behind while they were waiting to talk with her in her office, but didn't get far as Montana's bullwhip snapped through the air and wrapped around her neck and brought her to the ground.

Felicia rolled over to get up, only to feel a large foot force her back to the ground. She looked back to see that Ox had recovered from her initial blow.

"I would suggest you don't do that again," Ox warned, "Or I'll crush your spine."

"You're in lucky anyway," Fancy Dan commented, "You're wanted alive."

"Lucky me," Felicia answered, deciding to see if she could get some information out of them, as the Enforcers were not known for their intelligence, "Any reason why?"

"We can't say," Fancy Dan answered, "We were ordered to pick you up and take you to our boss. Of course he also said that if you fight, we get to waste ya."

"Still working for the Kingpin?" Felicia asked.

"Yeah," Ox answered, "And if you know what's good for you, you'll come along with us."

Felicia silently weighed her options. The Enforcers were tough, no doubt about that, but she was sure she could take them, or at least escape from them. Ox was strong, but not superhumanly strong. And if they wanted her alive, she highly doubted that Fancy Dan had permission to shoot her, even if she did fight. Montana, while good with his whip, couldn't deal with anyone beyond its range and wasn't as effective at extremely close quarters combat.

But, one the other hand, Felicia never say any of them go for a blind fold, and if they were intending to take her to Fisk, then that meant that they would do the work she needed to do for Spider-Man for her.

"We're waitin'," Montana commented.

"No need to shoot," Felicia answered, "I'll come with you… peacefully."

"Excellent," Fancy Dan smiled, "Let's go."

**Midtown High**

The day had gone rather slow for Peter. His classes had gone fairly well, but Flash had taken great lengths to avoid him, apparently that morning, as Peter never ran into him at all, when he had had to almost brush him off every time that they had met when Flash had first returned. He was still privately sure he had gotten Flash angry because he told Flash the truth and not what he wanted to hear. What made the whole thing frustrating was that this was part of 'Peter Parker's' life while as 'Spider-Man' he had to keep his mind on the recent activities of the Kingpin. Somehow, he had to take care of both situations.

He was just about to take a bite of his lunch, when he heard a familiar voice speak to him.

"There you are!" came Flash's voice, "I've been looking all over for ya."

"I've been where I've always been," Peter answered weakly, "The science section of the school."

Flash chuckled slightly.

"Never looked there," Flash laughed, "Anyway, I need your help."

"Help?" Peter asked, "You're not mad at me?"

"Mad at you?" Flash raised an eyebrow.

"You know, from the other day," Peter answered, "When I said that I thought you had amnesia."

"Oh that," Flash laughed, "I was mad when you said it, and I kinda dwelt on it a little bit, but last night I was watching this movie and there was an actress in it that looked an awful lot like your wife."

Peter blinked.

"So, I realized that if there is an actress that looks like your wife, then there is probably some guy out there looks sorta like me," Flash finished his explanation, "It was probably him, you saw."

"I saw a guy that looks like you?" Peter questioned.

Flash nodded.

"Also goes by the nickname 'Flash'?" Peter asked.

Flash nodded again.

"Was involved in a massive car accident while working for Norman Osborn?" Peter asked again.

"Small world, isn't it?" Flash answered back.

"Small world," Peter sighed, not knowing what he could do to get Flash to admit he had amnesia, for now, he decided just to 'play along' until he could think of a decent plan, "So what do you need help with?"

"Well, there's this woman that's recently joined the school staff…" Flash began.

"You want me to set you up with another teacher?" Peter gasped.

"No, the school nurse," Flash answered.

"Flash, I can't help you get together with someone I don't know," Peter answered.

"I don't really know her either," Flash shrugged, "She's new to the school. I just figured that since you managed to catch the attention of a VERY attractive woman, you might have some pointers for me."

Peter sighed. He had never been suited to, nor did he ever try to be a match maker. He was privately sure that what attracted MJ to him would never work between this nurse and Flash. In fact, Peter and Mary Jane had been together for so long, that he wasn't sure anymore what he did that won Mary Jane over.

"Have you tried what you did in High School?" Peter asked.

"You look like you could take me if you really wanted to," Flash answered, "No bulky muscles, but lots of wire. Which is way more then what you had in high school, so bullying you is out of the question."

Peter then sighed again, "Flash, seeing as I don't know her, and that what worked for me and MJ may not work with her, I would suggest that you just be yourself. That's the best I can do."

"That's not much in the way of advice," Flash commented.

"I majored in chemistry, physics, and focused particularly on the nuclear field in college, and I was this school's resident 'nerd'," Peter answered, "Why would you think I'd know anything about relationships?"

"You married a super model," Flash pointed out.

"That doesn't mean I could set other people up, and since I don't know this nurse, it would be rude of me to try," Peter argued.

Flash only sighed, "Okay, be myself. Got it. There's no secret that would make any woman love me?"

"There is not secret that makes anyone love anyone," Peter answered.

Flash sighed again and then looked up and began a new conversation, still sounding rather cheery, which Peter thought was weird.

"So how goes the search for fireworks for the football team?" Flash asked.

"You're serious about that?" Peter asked back.

"Well, I wasn't at first, but after awhile, it actually seemed like a good idea," Flash answered, "Fireworks would be cool."

"It'll take awhile," Peter said rubbing the back of his head, "I thought you had just brought it up to keep the discussion away from amnesia and haven't done anything about it yet."

"Sorry I sounded so grumpy," Flash shrugged, "Anyway, just let me know if we can or not."

Flash then got up and left, leaving Peter to sigh and finish up his lunch before heading to do his afternoon classes.

**Hotel Room**

Felicia was surprised that the Enforcers never bothered to blindfold her. They probably thought that since Felicia had 'worked' for various crime bosses in some capacity, they wouldn't have to worry about her ratting them out. Nevertheless, her gamble paid off. They took her to a rather upscale hotel in Manhattan and took her up to the top floor. They then lead her into a 'room' that had to be a multi-room suite. The room she entered was set up like a mixed living room/office. There were two other doors available that probably lead to a bathroom or a bedroom. And seated behind the office desk was Wilson Fisk.

"Ah, Ms. Hardy," Fisk smiled, "It is good to see that you are still in business."

"The Cat's Eye is doing quite well, thank you," Felicia answered.

The Enforcers moved to block the door that they had just brought Felicia through.

"So, why have you had your stooges bring me here?" Felicia demanded.

"Such action is unnecessary," Fisk said, close to defensively, "You are in no danger. I merely wish to 'hire' your services."

"Hire my services?" Felicia asked, "Remember I'm not a criminal. Anything I do, technically, has to be legal."

"I am well aware of the conditions that you have for taking certain jobs, and I can assure you that this job is quite legal," Fisk raised his hands trying to look innocent, "You'd actually be helping the authorities in a way."

This raised Felicia's curiosity as she wanted to know what Fisk was up to. After seeing the news the night before she was fairly certain that he had already consolidated his power over the criminal underworld in New York.

"What is it then?" Felicia asked, "Not something involving you taking over Manhattan crime, is it?"

"No, that task is completed," Fisk gave a triumphant smile, "This has more to do with paying a debt to someone, who at the moment wishes to remain anonymous."

"So, what is this little errand you want done?" Felicia asked, "You have my curiosity."

"I want you to capture Norman Osborn and bring him to me," Fisk answered, "Alive."

Felicia gasped, "You are wanting to tangle with Norman Osborn? A top level villain? The Green Goblin?"

"Ms. Hardy he has already tangled with me," Fisk answered, "He played some role in my earlier demise, that much is clear, and he seen to put a fool in my place. For those reasons alone, I would want him dead."

There was a brief silence for a few moments before Fisk continued.

"He has also committed acts that have enraged my silent partner to the point that he wants Osborn dead," Fisk finished.

"Couldn't you have some of your goons do it?" Felicia questioned, "I'm not too keen on going after a guy who runs around in green colored armor and uses pumpkins as bombs."

"My men are also searching for him, but this is to be a test of loyalty for you, Ms. Hardy," Fisk said firmly, "Never forget that I am the one responsible for your powers over probability. You are indebted to me for that. On top of this, I was told that you interrogated one of my men. I'm also going to assume that you've already told Spider-Man that I am back. You will find and bring Norman Osborn to me, and you will not inform that arachnid of my intentions, or I will see to it that your nine lives are erased, permanently."

"I take it there is no money involved in this little job?" Felicia asked.

"Keeping your life should be payment enough," Fisk dismissed her, "You have four days to at least have a lead on Osborn. You may go."

Felicia slowly and hesitantly made her way out of the room. None of the Enforcers followed her as she made her way back down to the ground floor. Her little talk with Fisk had changed some things, but not all of them.

"He never said anything about not telling Spider where you are," Felicia thought to herself as she got onto the elevator.

Back in the room that Fisk used as his base, the 'secret partner' returned.

"She is sure to tell Spider-Man that you are here," the voice warned, "Such a threat was improper."

"I am counting on that," Fisk answered, "The last thing I need is that meddlesome wall-crawler interfering with this operation. He will find plenty of surprises in store for him when he arrives."

**Avenger's Tower, that Evening**

Peter watched from a side angle as Mary Jane leaped through the air and somersaulted over some improvised flying projectiles. He had converted the Avenger's gym into a makeshift training center for Mary Jane to increase her skills with her spider-sense and her actual combat skills. Various plastic poles, hung by webbing served as projectiles that Mary Jane had to avoid while trying to take out various robotic drones that Stark still had from the old Avenger's Mansion to be used as 'tackling dummies'.

As he watched, Peter was sure that Mary Jane had made tremendous progress with her powers. None of his improvised projectiles hit her and she had 'knocked out' a half dozen of the practice robots. As the final practice robot hit the ground, Mary Jane leaped over to where Peter was standing.

"Very good, MJ," Peter told her, "Very good."

Mary Jane shrugged, "I guess. I came close to getting hit a couple of times.

"That is no problem," Peter answered, "If some one is trying to kill you, and he misses, no matter how close the bullet comes, it's still a defeat for him."

"But you've come home bragging on occasion that 'they didn't even come close to hitting me'," Mary Jane answered.

"The key word in that sentence is bragging," Peter chuckled, "There have still been a fair number of times where I've come home and have been pretty badly beaten. Your spider-sense won't prevent you from getting hit from time to time. Some guys are fast enough that you won't have time to get out of the way. And some guys are smart enough to know when to try and throw a punch. Your spider-sense won't help much while you're airborne."

Mary Jane frowned.

"Everything has its risks," Peter tried to encourage her, "And no one is truly immortal. Tony and Cap have spent a fair amount of time looking for Thor, but they haven't found him and fear that he is dead, and Thor is…"

"The Norse God of Thunder, I know," Mary Jane answered, "His 'biblical' way of speaking made for great interviews when he was with the Avengers. But that isn't the point. Shouldn't we be able to avoid getting hit by anything?"

"Given room and full knowledge of the opponent, yes," Peter answered, "But there will be times when I've taken some pretty powerful blows from guys I don't know all that well, in terms of knowing what their powers are or other things like that."

Mary Jane looked down again.

"Your biggest problem, MJ, is that you aren't that experienced with everything yet," Peter answered, "You mastered all the individual portions of your powers, now, the only thing that's really left is for you to build up your confidence. Get used to using your powers."

"This is all very new to me, Peter," Mary Jane answered, and wanting to say that it was also only to make sure Peter didn't get hurt as Spider-Man, but the memory of what the Hobgoblin had done to Liz's penthouse apartment stopped her.

"I know," Peter answered, "and the more you practice all of this, the better you'll get. It's experience MJ. As time goes by, you'll find you have more experience and will be able to feel more confident about using your powers as Arachne."

"I wish I could feel as confident as you sound about all this," Mary Jane answered, "It's still all taking some getting used to. I mean it wasn't that long ago that I couldn't walk on the ceiling."

"Oh come on," Peter gave a slight smile, "You know you'll enjoy the adventure. You and May both followed me into Latveria in some of Tony's old clothes to use the only time machine on the planet. Shoot, you and Aunt May took out more of Doom's 'Doombots' then I did, and I was the only official hero at the time."

"You were dying at the time," Mary Jane answered, "May and I weren't going to let you go gallivanting around time to see the past by yourself."

"And you did a great job in the armor," Peter answered.

"That armor was stuffy and cramped," Mary Jane answered, "I agree with what Aunt May said that day. I don't know who Tony deals with being cooped up in that armor. And on top of it, it was murder on my hair."

"It was kinda funny to see you with 'helmet hair'," Peter chuckled.

"And that's why I'm glad my mask is like Jessica's," Mary Jane said back, "I don't have worry about my hair that way."

Peter chuckled slightly, "Okay, okay. But still, you're making progress in developing all your powers. Jessica's even said that you're almost in complete control of your pheromone powers."

"Speaking of which," Mary Jane said with a heavy blush, "There's something I need to tell you."

"About what?" Peter asked.

"Well, Jessica and I had short training session today to see how my progress in controlling my pheromone powers are coming," Mary Jane said weakly.

"How did it go?" Peter interrupted.

"She gave the same 'you've improved tremendously' speech you've been giving," Mary Jane answered, "But she also had some other information she had to tell me."

Mary Jane then looked down with a heavy sigh, and looked seriously embarrassed.

"What is it?" Peter asked.

"She said my pheromone powers are somehow related to my reproductive system," Mary Jane said slowly.

Peter nodded, "Stark showed me a bio-map of your body. Your pheromone powers are connected to your ovaries. Which is scientifically the most likely place. Many animals use pheromones to attract prospective mates to sire the next generation."

Mary Jane looked down again, looking even more embarrassed. Peter noticed this and stepped closer to her.

"What is it?" Peter asked, "Something is bothering you."

"What is your stance on children?" Mary Jane asked.

"Are you pregnant again?" Peter asked in a surprised voice, "If you are, that is wonderful news…"

"No, I'm not pregnant," Mary Jane cut him off, "And until I get used to being Arachne, I don't want to get pregnant. The last thing I need right now is to be carrying the next generation of spider-people inside me. That's the problem."

Peter then looked at her with a very confused look on his face.

"Jessica told me that if my powers operate in any way like hers, there is a good chance that I could be releasing them rather heavily on the days that I'm ovulating," Mary Jane said weakly, "And…"

"And you're worried you'll get pregnant as a result?" Peter asked.

"Especially since neither of us use protection," Mary Jane sighed.

Peter sighed, "MJ, I'd love to have someone who will call me 'dad' and you 'mom', but right now YOU are the most important person in my life. If you don't want a kid at this time, that's fine, and you don't need my permission to use birth control methods. Shoot, I'll even by some protection for myself if it'll make you feel better. Also, just because your pheromone powers attract others towards you, doesn't mean that anything will happen. You'll still have full control over your powers right?"

"I can keep my production down enough that people won't be running around trying to get me pregnant," Mary Jane answered, "But Jessica told me that I can't keep from producing them during that time. And this isn't a discussion about safe sex, I'm just saying we'll need to be abstinent around that time of the month."

"Okay," Peter answered, turning slightly red.

Peter about to say more when suddenly the ventilation vent above them dropped to the floor in front of them and Black Cat followed shortly behind.

"Hey Spider, Red," Black Cat said with a smile, "I'm not interrupting anything am I?"

Peter and Mary Jane looked at each other for a few moments and then shook their heads.

"No, nothing at all," Peter answered, "What brings you here so sudden?"

"You asked me to find out where the Kingpin was hiding out," Black Cat reminded him, "Remember?"

"You've found out already?" Mary Jane asked.

"Some of Fisk's lieutenants are rather careless," Black Cat answered, "I was able to track them down rather easily. He's in a hotel on the north side of Manhattan. If you can get me to a map of the city, and if you can get me a floor plan of that building, I'll tell you exactly which room he's in."

"We'll need to use some of the Avengers computers for that," Pete sighed, "Follow me."

A few minutes later, Peter was in the central room of the Avengers Tower at one of the computers pulling up a map of Manhattan.

"Okay, you said the hotel is on the northern end of Manhattan?" Peter asked as he punched in several buttons on the keyboard.

Black Cat nodded as several buildings illuminated on the large screen that the three of them were watching.

"It's that one there in the upper left corner," Black Cat pointed at one of the individual buildings.

"This one?" Peter asked as he brought he mouse over the same building.

"That's the one," Black Cat answered.

Peter clicked on it, and the screen was soon filled with the image of the building itself.

"Fisk is in a penthouse on the top floor," Black Cat explained.

Peter clicked on the top floor, and the screen came up with a floor plan for that specific floor.

"That one, on the west side of the building," Black Cat pointed.

"How do you know all this?" Mary Jane asked somewhat suspiciously, "You know a little too much to have simply followed a careless lieutenant of the Kingpin's."

"You two have your secrets, and I have mine," Black Cat answered, "I can't tell you any more."

"Okay," Peter sighed and looked at the screen again, "That's where he's hiding?"

"Hiding is hardly the word for it," Black Cat answered.

"You'll help us take care of him right?" Peter asked.

"Sorry, Spider," Black Cat answered, keeping Fisk's threat against her and her mission to find Norman Osborn secret, "But another case has come up that I'm going to have to take care of."

"Okay," Peter sighed, "Nothing serious, I hope?"

"No," Black Cat shrugged, "Just the stuff I'm usually involved in, but it is very important."

"Okay," Peter sighed.

Black Cat then left with a nod, leaving Peter and Mary Jane alone. The two then looked at each other and then at the second air vent that Black Cat had disappeared into.

"Tony's so going to kick me out of the Avengers," Peter sighed, "He isn't going to like the fact that she's broken into the tower, twice."

"At least it wasn't to steal anything," Mary Jane commented.

Peter gave a reluctant nod and then looked to Mary Jane again, "We'll have to put our earlier conversation on hold for a while. Ready for some 'field work' to help you hone your powers some more? It'll give you some more much needed experience."

"Don't talk like this is fun, Peter," Mary Jane answered, "I'll go. If only to keep you safe and to make sure Fisk doesn't hurt anyone."

**Over Manhattan, Shortly After**

"So, what's the plan, tiger?" Arachne asked as she and Spider-Man swung above the city, "And don't tell me it's just go in and grab him."

"Alright, I won't tell you the plan," Spider-Man answered as he leaped over a small water tower and fired out another webline.

"So, we're just going to barge in there, even if it's a trap?" Arachne asked.

"It's a living," Spider-Man smirked underneath his mask.

"You're impossible at times," Arachne grumbled, "Suppose he's waiting for us?"

"Then he'll expect us to beat him up," Spider-Man answered, "Fisk is powerful, but not superhuman. He would have all he can do to fight me alone, let alone you as well."

"I wish I had your confidence," Arachne grumbled as they landed and clung to the side of a building across the street from the hotel that Fisk was using as his present headquarters.

"Give it time," Spider-Man shrugged, "Soon you'll learn how to tell wise cracks and sound confident when your legs are shaking just like me."

"I don't think that's the importance of 'superhero' training," Arachne commented.

"Come on, it takes away fear and builds confidence," Spider-Man answered and leaped into the air toward the hotel window that led to the Fisk's suite, "Let's go!"

Arachne sighed and leaped after him. They crashed through a fairly large window at the same time and to their surprise bounced off a bed, hit the ceiling and hit the ground. They also found out that despite the fact that all the lights were out, they weren't alone in the room.

"Boss was right," a voice commented, "They don't believe in doors."

A light came on and Spider-Man and Arachne found themselves surrounded by gunmen.

"I told you it was a trap!" Arachne exclaimed as she bounced back up to her feet and punched the closest gunman to her, in doing so knocking him into three others behind him.

"Complain, complain," Spider-Man answered as he flipped onto his feet and then webbed two crooks and flung them at several others, "These guys are just lackeys. We can take them out easily."

The four remaining gunmen then began to fire on both Spider-Man and Arachne. However, warned by their spider-sense, none of their bullets hit them. Spider-Man, however, was the only one to dodge and attack, while Arachne leaped and clung to different parts of the ceiling. It took Spider-Man a grand total of thirty seconds to knock out the remaining gunmen. Once that was done, Arachne dropped back down to the floor and looked at the unconscious gunmen.

"See, it's not so hard," Spider-Man said casually, "It's like the training simulation I put you through back the tower. Use your spider-sense to dodge the bullets while attacking the crook."

"But those things at the tower couldn't have hurt me," Arachne argued.

"It's the same principle," Spider-Man said, "You can't dodge a bad guy's shots until he runs out of ammunition. You'll have to take the fight to him at times."

Spider-Man then walked towards the door, intending to search the rest of the suite. As he approached the door, he felt his spider-sense go off and began to back away, but it was too late as the door was knocked off its hinges and knocked him back against the far wall. Ox took up the doorway soon after.

"Don't mind if I crash your little pep talk," Ox taunted with a smile.

Arachne leaped forward, driven to keep Ox from hurting her husband, and landed a punch on his jaw, knocking the muscle-bound villain into the next room. When she landed she found herself in the suite's living room with the rest of the Enforcers watching with a man larger then Ox watching from behind a desk.

"Ah, you must be this new heroine in New York, Arachne, is it not?" Fisk asked with a smile, "I'm afraid to say that all I've heard about you is your name."

"Spider-Man has told me all about you, Kingpin," Arachne answered, "You're going straight to jail. I don't like mobsters."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Fisk commented as Spider-Men entered the room and Ox got up to stand by Montana and Fancy Dan, "I'm afraid then that the two of you will have to die. I can't have you ruining the future plans that I have for this city."

With that, the Enforcers rushed forward in an attempt to attack both Arachne and Spider-Man. Arachne did a back flip away from a punch thrown at her by Ox and landed near the door that lead out into the rest of the hotel. After a few seconds, she heard he door open and then felt her spider-sense go off. She ducked down to see several throwing stars fly over her head and hit Ox in the shoulders. He screamed with pain, but remained standing. Arachne turned around to see a man in a black and white costume standing in the doorway, holding more throwing stars.

"Let me guess, Bullseye?" Arachne asked looking at the white 'bulls-eye' on his forehead.

"Smart woman, but you're dead, anyway," Bullseye answered and threw his throwing stars at Arachne again.

Sensing them coming, Arachne leaped into the air and toward Bullseye. Bullseye's throwing stars missed again, and Arachne landed a kick on his collar bone, taking him to the ground. Arachne then webbed him to the ground.

"Must be embarrassing for you to lose to a rookie," Arachne smirked.

Her distraction, however, allowed Ox to plow into her from behind and grab her in a death grip, intending to crush her to death.

"Must be embarrassing for you to die so quickly," Bullseye taunted from the floor.

Ox began to squeeze tighter, and Arachne struggled, but as she did so, she found out something rather important. Ox wasn't superhumanly strong. Strong for an average human, yes, superhuman, no. Arachne then drove her elbows into Ox's ribs with all her might and felt a slight cracking sound as she did so come from his ribcage. Ox let her go and she quickly pivoted and laid a powerful haymaker of a punch on Ox's jaw. That sent Ox flying through the door to the bathroom.

Spider-Man meanwhile vaulted over Montana and kicked Fancy Dan's gun out of his hand and webbed the other gun with his webbing.

"That's it you wall crawling psycho!" Fancy Dan screamed and lunged forward.

Spider-Man dodged and ran into Montana.

"I'm psycho now?" Spider-Man asked, "Great, now I need a shrink."

"You'll wish you had been to one instead of coming here," Fisk growled and hit Spider-Man with his electric cane.

The cane's voltage stunned Spider-Man for a moment, allowing Montana to recover and wrap his whip around Spider-Man's neck.

"Now that's not fair," Spider-Man gasped, "Everyone knows that the boss doesn't become involved in the fight until after all his subordinates are beaten. It's in the rulebook. You don't want them to throw you out of the super villain union, do you Kingpin?"

Fisk hit him with his cane again.

"In your case, I'm quite willing to make an exception," Fisk growled.

"There's just one thing you forgot," Spider-Man gasped again.

"And what is that?" Fisk demanded.

"Arachne," Spider-Man answered.

Fisk looked up to see Arachne flying over his head. She grabbed his shirt as she went over him and then lifted him up and using her momentum, threw him into the far wall. Without Fisk to help Montana and Fancy Dan, Spider-Man grabbed hold of Montana's whip and pulled it from him. He then caught Montana in his webbing and Fancy Dan in Montana's whip and threw them over where Ox was laying, although he kept hold on Montana's whip. Both Montana and Fancy Dan were out cold.

"You okay, tiger?" Arachne asked.

"Never better," Spider-Man answered, rubbing his throat.

"Tiger?" Fisk grumbled as he got up.

"I'm much more the Spider-Man's partner," Arachne answered him.

"What?" Fisk asked in a confused voice, "You can't possibly…"

"Why not?" Spider-Man questioned back, "It works for Reed and Susan Richards. Superheroes can love each other."

Fisk went to grab for his cane when Arachne grabbed it with a webline and then yanked it over to her. Fisk could only watch as she broke it with her hands.

"And I'm every bit as strong as Spider-Man is, so don't think I'm a pushover," Arachne said firmly.

"I'm afraid he already has," a voice said from behind them, causing both Arachne and Spider-Man to jump slightly.

The two of them turned to see a man with silver-white skin covered in black robes. Arachne had no idea who this guy was, but Spider-Man knew him all too well.

"Scrier!" Spider-Man exclaimed.

"Precisely," Scrier answered, "A pleasure to meet you again, Spider-Man."

To Be Continued


	4. Scrier’s Revenge

All characters appearing in Spider-Man are copyrighted to Marvel Entertainment and Stan Lee. No infringement of these copyrights is intended, and is not authorized by the copyright holder. All original characters are the property of TVfan.

Note: this story is a sequel to my "A New Life" story, and begins a few days after it.

All the King's Men

By TVfan

**Chapter 4: Scrier's Revenge**

**Fisk's Hotel Room**

"Who's the zombie?" Arachne asked as she looked at the newcomer to the fight, a man with pale white skin and wearing a black hooded robe.

"That would be a Scrier," Spider-Man answered, "Never fully understood why he calls himself that, although it was the clone Spider-Man that had more run ins with this guy then I did."

"Did he tell you anything?" Arachne asked she backed toward her partner, to make sure Fisk didn't try anything.

"Largely that they're better fighters then they look, and that there is more then one of them," Spider-Man answered as he faced the Scrier completely.

"So he's got an army behind him?" Arachne questioned.

"The Brotherhood of Scriers is made up of many men and women dedicated to our great cause," Scrier said, "But I am the only Scrier in New York City at present. Not that your interference in our affairs will go unpunished."

"Since when did you dabble in organized crime?" Spider-Man questioned, "You never seemed the type to make people an 'offer'."

"My association with Fisk is purely for the purpose of attaining more important matters," Scrier answered, "What he does in the criminal underworld is of no concern to me or to my brotherhood."

"At least you have your priorities straight," Spider-Man commented and leaped into the air towards Scrier, intending to knock the guy to the ground, "Would you mind telling me what your purpose for being here is?"

Scrier sidestepped Spider-Man's attack and unleashed a kick while the hero was still in midair, throwing him against the wall.

"Ow," Spider-Man grumbled as he got back up.

"There is no need for violence," Scrier answered, "Since you have already defeated Fisk, I might as well explain…"

"I am hardly defeated," Fisk growled from his position, although he had made no move to advance on Arachne.

"Your prized assassin is webbed to the floor and your enforcers are out cold in the bathroom and you're facing two super powered vigilantes," Scrier answered, "I would hardly call your position victorious."

"If you two are done bickering like an old married couple," Arachne spoke up, "Either fight or talk."

Scrier nodded, "I am here because of matters relating to a certain Norman Osborn."

"Osborn!" Spider-Man gasped, "I should have known he was behind all this somehow. But what is he up to? He was part of the reason why Fisk was locked up, although he worked in the shadows. Why would he put Fisk back as the Kingpin?"

The Scrier reached inside his robes and pulled out several glass spheres and threw them at both Spider-Man and Arachne. Both heroes leaped away on reflex and clung to the wall closest to them, while Fisk took a few steps back himself. None of the glass spheres hit anyone, but they did release a gas upon shattering on the floor. The gas quickly flooded the lungs of both Spider-Man and Arachne. Fisk had managed to get far enough away so that the gas didn't touch him.

Scrier then watched as Spider-Man tried to talk back, but found that his tongue wouldn't work.

"My explanation will go by a lot easier if I don't have to deal with your interruptions," Scrier answered.

Scrier then cleared his throat and began to explain.

"First of all, Norman Osborn has played no part in the planning of this operation," the Scrier said slowly, "He is the reason I am here, but I am not here on his orders. I was sent here by the Headmaster of the Brotherhood of Scriers with explicit orders to see that Norman Osborn dies."

Both the eye pieces in Spider-Man's and Arachne's masks widened in surprise, although neither could formulate their surprise in words.

**Elsewhere**

"You want us to fight the Kingpin?" the chief lieutenant of one of the minor crime families on the northeast side of Manhattan, "Buddy, he's got his empire back and took out half of the crime families in New York to get it."

"That is exactly why you should fight," Bookkeeper answered, "He's likely to make sure he has no opposition. He'll come after you again."

"Listen buddy," the man said, "Silvermaine is dead. Hammerhead is in the hospital. Fortunato's been bullied into being quiet. I meanwhile have to work to establish myself as the replacement for the leader of my own mob here. And by the way, the Kingpin already whacked the guy I'm trying to replace."

"There will be no balance if you allow Fisk to regain his power," Bookkeeper answered, "He will force you to pay him. Can't you remember when you and every other small family had to pay Fisk money to keep him from destroying you?"

"So how do you propose we deal with the super freaks that the Kingpin has working for him?" the man countered, "I know about the strike he launched against the Owl's little meeting. The Enforcers aren't easy to deal with in any situation."

"The Enforcers are not super powered," Bookkeeper answered, "And there is no superhero or super villain that is immortal."

"Yeah, but the Kingpin always retains a group of real super freaks for the real big stuff," the man argued, "I don't want to start a war with a guy who can send in some super strong who is practically impervious to bullets, or a guy who teleport in and out before we could even notice."

"Sometimes risks must be taken," Bookkeeper answered, "I'm not saying that we challenge the Kingpin directly. At least not yet. I still have to reorganize what little remains of the Owl's organization. But if we can harass the Kingpin and prevent him from strengthening his position that would be the best thing until I can get the Owl's organization running again and convince Fortunato to return to the fold."

"Harass the Kingpin, eh?" the man commented, "I won't promise anything, but that might work."

"Thank you," Bookkeeper answered, "That is all that I'm asking. I'll be in touch."

Bookkeeper then turned and slowly walked out of the small room that he had met this small group of gangsters in. Once the door was shut, one of the new leader's lieutenants turned to face the new leader with a rather questioning look on his face.

"Are you really going to harass the Kingpin's men?" the lieutenant asked nervously.

"To help that desperate dweeb?" the man answered, "Of course not. We'll pay the Kingpin the same fee as before and stay out of his way."

Bookkeeper, meanwhile, just got outside the small shop when he was suddenly grabbed from behind and lifted into the air. He was surprised beyond belief that he had come under attack from someone, and he prayed that the Kingpin hadn't found out about his mission from the Owl already.

"Please don't kill me!" Bookkeeper pleaded.

Before he blacked out, Bookkeeper heard his assailant answer, "Kill you? I have great need of you alive for the time being. Why would I kill you?"

**Fisk's Hotel Room**

"You see, my arachnophile heroes, the Brotherhood of Scriers is a very tight knit organization and anyone who betrays us in any manner is subject to the harshest of punishments," Scrier continued his explanation, "and Norman Osborn has betrayed the Brotherhood of Scriers. It is as simple as that."

"Buh… he… wauh…yuh…le…duh…" Spider-Man managed to mumble out, but he still hadn't managed to gain control of his tongue.

"Only of a small branch of the Brotherhood of Scriers," Scrier answered, "In terms of the entire organization, Osborn was a very small fish in a much bigger ocean then he thought. It all began shortly after your great encounter on the George Washington Bridge, involving a young Miss Stacy…"

**Paris, France, the Past**

Norman Osborn slowly walked into the small mansion that he had long owned, even before he became the Green Goblin. However, for the time being he was relatively frustrated. His latest attempt to defeat Peter Parker: Spider-Man had failed miserably. While he was glad that he had managed to knock the webslinger's girlfriend off of the top of the bridge, which resulted in her death, the end result of that battle had not been to his liking. Instead of being weakened to the point where he would just surrender, Spider-Man took strength from the incident and practically beat him senseless. Then, the hero's infernal danger sense allowed him to avoid the goblin glider which had seemingly killed Norman. Norman remembered waking up a few days later inside a casket and underground, but completely healed from his previous injuries. He then fled the country so that Spider-Man wouldn't catch on that he was alive.

The night before, Norman began one of the many revenge plots he had running through his mind as he recovered the 'orphaned' children of Gwen Stacy that he himself had conceived not more then nine months ago. They would fight and defeat Spider-Man if he couldn't, as he had no faith that Harry would be successful, although he did suspect that his oldest son would try and follow in his footsteps. Harry would have to do until these twins were ready or until he had thought of a better plan.

"A better plan," Osborn mumbled to himself as he stood alone in the dark kitchen of the mansion, "How am I to get a better plan when I'm here? How did I even lose the last battle? How could that scrawny boy beat me?!"

Osborn sighed and then leaned against the counter and wiped the seat from his brow. He knew that screaming at the walls wouldn't help him recover in any fashion. For the time being, his only option was to lie low for a while. He needed to recover his own physical strength, and even with the growth acceleration drugs that he would soon begin pumping into the children he had sired in Gwen Stacy, he would be busy in Europe for the foreseeable future.

"I will need better intelligence for the future," Osborn mumbled to himself again as he began to make his way toward his bedroom, "I will need someway to keep an eye on both Harry and on Spider-Man."

He was halfway up the stairs when he saw a dark figure in the shadows. He blinked and looked at the spot harder, but found the area to be empty. He shrugged and went upstairs to his bead.

**Catacombs, Half an Hour later**

The local Scrier agent walked silently through the maze of underground sewers, catacombs and tunnels that was underneath the city of Paris. The Scrier then came to one relatively small open area that in medieval times had been an area where the people would bring the bodies of their deceased to be placed. There were three other Scriers waiting for him.

"Master," the Scrier spoke, "the one from your visions has arrived."

"The American?" the physically largest Scrier questioned.

"Yes," the Scrier answered, "He is concerned about some 'scrawny teen', as well as persons named 'Harry' and 'Spider-Man'."

"Spider-Man is one of the many active superheroes that have taken residence in the largest city in North America," the large Scrier answered, "I doubt that 'Spider-Man' is his real name."

"The American did not say his name, Master," the Scrier answered.

"Did he see you?" the large Scrier questioned.

"No, Master," the Scrier answered.

"The chief priests of the Brotherhood want to test my visions," the large Scrier announced, "In the near future, you are to show yourself to this American and slowly lead him here."

"But if I do so, and your visions are fulfilled, you will be killed and this American will be the new leader of the Brotherhood of Scriers in France," the Scrier answered, "And according to your vision, this American doesn't believe in the great Scrier."

"That does not change our fellowship to the Great Scrier," the large Scrier answered, "All our visions that show us the future are the Great Scrier's will. If my vision means my death, then it is the Great Scrier's will that this American become the local leader. Never forget that the Great Scrier is more important then any of us as individuals."

"Of course, Master," the Scrier answered as the others nodded in agreement.

**Fisk's Hotel Room, Present**

"The rest is all history," Scrier finished, "I showed myself to Osborn and lead him to my local leader. The two dueled and Osborn won the duel, although it was by the skin of his teeth."

The Scrier then paused for a moment while Spider-Man moved to stand by Arachne.

"Osborn then sent us to serve as his eyes and ears in New York," Scrier then continued to explain, "we kept eyes on his son and on you. We were involved in the creation the 'clone' Spider-Man whom the Green Goblin would later kill. Any battle in which you fought against one of Norman Osborn's plans was organized by the Brotherhood of Scriers."

"Theeh… whueh… duh… yuh…wuh… tuh… ke… hmm?" Arachne mumbled, still wondering how the gas had somehow made her tongue go numb.

"Why do we want to kill him now?" Scrier repeated her question, "Ultimately, it is because of betrayal. Osborn betrayed the Brotherhood of Scriers, but even that story is a long one, and goes back originally to the Gathering of Five…"

**Greece, the Past**

"What is the purpose of these pieces?" one rather skinny Scrier questioned as he held up a box that was containing one of the pieces that Osborn had said he needed for the Gathering of Five in New York, "All of the texts on this say that the pieces are all semi-intelligent and can sense who is trying to gain what."

"They also say that the gifts of the Gathering are difficult to truly figure out," the lead Scrier answered, "But Osborn says that these pieces are critical in establishing his final battle against Spider-Man."

"Yes," another Scrier commented, "Something about wanting godhood or something. I think that he isn't fit to be our leader anymore. The Great Scrier is the only one of us that can claim 'godhood'."

The lead Scrier looked down for a moment as he remembered the promises that Osborn had made when he had defeated his first leader in the catacombs under Paris. Now as he lead two others out of the ruins of an Ancient Greek city, one far older then even the Acropolis in Athens, he began to have doubts as to his first leader's claim that the Great Scrier had willed that Osborn take over. The man had done many things that were contrary to the rules of the Brotherhood. So far, the worst had only been his refusal to change his name to 'Scrier' and dress as a Scrier and follow the Brotherhood's religious practices. But the third Scrier's suspicions did match with many of the things that the lead Scrier had learned from his visits with Osborn. The man was incredibly ambitious and ready to find some way to make himself invincible. A lot of that was contrary to the proper behavior of a Scrier, but he was bound to serve him.

"We must continue our mission," the lead Scrier answered, "Osborn is our leader. And while he does not follow the codes to the letter, we have grown more powerful under his leadership."

"Too bad you're all about to die," a voice cut them off before one of the other two Scriers could answer.

The lead Scrier looked up to see a man dressed in ragged clothing, as if it had been torn up and worn over and over again. He held two dead Scriers in his hands. His head and face was largely covered by rags and other pieces of cloth, but the lead Scrier could easily recognize who it was.

"Kaine!" the Scrier gasped.

"You will tell me the purpose that Osborn has sent you here," Kaine ordered.

"And why do you hunt us?" the lead Scrier questioned, "Shouldn't your opponent be Spider-Man?"

Kaine dropped the two Scriers that he had already killed and began to slowly advance on the three live Scriers.

"That part of my life is past," Kaine answered, "I am trying to atone for my past misdeeds, and Norman Osborn has caused the death of the one who has done the most to help me move toward redemption. I will not rest until I have squeezed the last breath of life from Norman Osborn."

"He isn't here," the thin Scrier said nervously as he clutched the box containing the piece to the Gathering of Five close to him.

"I know," Kaine answered as he continued to advance, "He is in New York, but I know that you have been his eyes and ears. I will never be able to beat him while you are around to warn him of danger. The plan is simple, no Scriers, no Osborn. In this way I can help another."

The lead Scrier struck first with a punch to Kaine's stomach and then a sweeping kick that took his feet out from under him.

"If you intend to fight, then I fear you will not last long," the lead Scrier answered, "You may have killed two Scriers, but we are three and you are one. You can not beat us all."

"Watch me," Kaine answered and grabbed the lead Scrier by the ankle and stood up.

Kaine then literally threw the lead Scrier out of the ancient ruins. He landed roughly one hundred yards away in the bright sunshine. He instantly began to run back toward the ruins that he and his comrades had just recovered the piece from. When he arrived, he found Kaine limping out of the ruins toward him and he was holding the box that contained the piece for the Gathering. Obviously his partners had managed to land a few serious blows on Kaine, but he had apparently killed them just as he had the original two.

"You survived," Kaine grumbled as he saw the lead Scrier.

"That box is the property of Norman Osborn," the Scrier said, "You have no right to it."

"Why don't you go away and tell your Master that you failed," Kaine suggested, "I've killed four of your little 'Brotherhood' already. I can make it an odd five easily."

"Failure is not an option," the Scrier answered, "That is the code of the Brotherhood of Scriers."

The Scrier then leaped into the air and delivered a kick to Kaine's collarbone, knocking the degenerating clone to the ground, and apparently breaking the bone after he heard a sick cracking sound. The clone also dropped the box he had taken from the thin Scrier and laid on the ground looking up at the Scrier that had just kicked him. The Scrier only picked up the box that Kaine had dropped and slowly left.

**One Hour Later**

The Scrier struggled out of the lifeboat and onto the private yacht belonging to one Alison Mongrain. The woman was obviously displeased by the arrival of the Scrier on her yacht.

"Has Osborn cooked up some new scheme to take over the world?" Mongrain questioned as the Scrier began to move toward the yacht's controls.

"All of Osborn's plans are progressing as planned," the Scrier answered, "But there have been some complications."

"Yes," Mongrain argued, "My yacht was not to be a Scrier base."

"If we do not leave, there is the concern that you won't live to see the world that Osborn will create," the Scrier answered, "The clone, Kaine, is lose has already killed four Scriers for this piece of Osborn's coming Gathering."

"And this concerns me, how?" Mongrain questioned.

"The fool probably believes the false rumors that Osborn has allowed to be leaked out and believes that you have the child that the Parker family recently lost," the Scrier answered.

"I delivered the poison that Osborn prescribed," Mongrain answered, "The child IS dead."

"Yes," the Scrier responded, "But Osborn ordered you to insure that the child would be stillborn to play his various psychological games with Spider-Man. He believes Spider-Man will kill himself looking for his 'supposedly' lost daughter."

There was a brief silence for a moment.

"Kaine appears to be following the same rules that Spider-Man would follow in the sense that he is attempting to foil all of Osborn's plans, and that may include recovering the child," the Scrier finished, "He will undoubtedly come after you, and unlike Spider-Man, Kaine has no qualms with killing an opponent."

"Fine," Mongrain grumbled, bumping the Scrier aside, "I'll head for Syracuse. If you've already escaped Kaine then we should have no need to worry about him catching up with us, and you can join up with a different band of Scriers there."

"Of course," the Scrier answered and went below decks, intending to make contact with Osborn.

Once he found a phone Scrier quietly dialed Osborn's phone number. Once Osborn answered, Scrier began his report.

"We've recovered the piece you requested," the Scrier reported, "Kaine has apparently taken a vow of vengeance against you, probably for the murder of Ben Reilly."

"But you recovered the piece?" Osborn asked over the phone.

"Yes," the Scrier answered.

"Then that is all that matters," Osborn answered, "You must return to New York at once. I must have all the pieces here and ready for the Gathering."

"Of course," the Scrier answered.

"Very soon, nothing will be able to stand in my way," Osborn said confidently over the phone, "Nothing."

The Scrier hung up his phone with some hesitation. Osborn's answer sounded exactly like his partner's premonitions. That Osborn was not going to follow the Great Scrier, but try and establish himself as a 'god' on earth. This was against the rules of the Brotherhood of Scriers, but he had no real proof and he would have to follow his leader.

**Fisk's Hotel Room, Present**

"But, in the end, you defeated Norman," the Scrier explained, "And the Gathering of Five only brought him madness, if he wasn't already mad."

Spider-Man and Arachne looked at each other, finding it hard to believe anything that the Scrier was saying.

"That was essentially the end of our association Norman Osborn," the Scrier continued, "While your victory made impossible for him to realize his plans and prevent him from breaking the rules of the Brotherhood of Scriers, it was the thing that made him break all ties with the Brotherhood, leaving us to fall to various law enforcement agencies…"

**Osborn's Mansion, the Past**

A group of Scriers stood over the twitching body of Norman Osborn as the man rolled around his bed, repeatedly mumbling, 'I beat him' over and over again. None of the present Scriers looked pleased.

"The master's plan has failed," one small Scrier commented.

"And gone of the deep end as a result," another Scrier added as Osborn continued rolling over and over in his bed, his bed sheets wrapping around him.

"We should be thankful that the curse he received from the gathering was madness," the lead Scrier said quietly, "We can counter madness. It is death that is permanent."

"Should we gather the materials to cure him of his madness then?" another Scrier asked.

The lead Scrier nodded and said slowly, "We will not last long without a leader to either give us direction or alert the order to other dangers. Begin gathering the necessary spell components."

Several Scriers then moved out of the room and went off to various sections of Osborn's mansion, intent on picking up the required pieces that would cure their leader of the madness that he had fallen into. The lead Scrier kept a slow watch over him. It took more then an hour to gather and assemble all the required spell requirements. Once that was done, Osborn seemed to calm down and fell into a deep sleep.

"Is he cured?" the small Scrier asked again.

"He's stopped talking," a second Scrier answered, "That must be a sign."

"Maybe he just wore himself out," another Scrier countered, "Shouldn't he have regained consciousness?"

"We'll know when he regains consciousness," the lead Scrier answered, "Go and make sure that Spider-Man does not make his way here."

The other Scriers nodded and left, leaving the lead Scrier to watch over Osborn. The man slept quiet peacefully for the duration of the night, and it wasn't until after the sun had risen that he had awakened.

"What happened?" Osborn asked as he slowly sat up.

"Your Gathering failed, Master," the Scrier answered, "It gave you the curse of madness rather then the gift of power."

"But I beat him…" Osborn said going back to his memories.

"You think you beat him," the Scrier answered, "The Brotherhood rescued you from both being insane and in an insane asylum."

"Thank you," Osborn said slowly eying the Scrier, "Did you take any steps to destroy Spider-Man?"

"We were earlier ordered not to interfere with your plans," the Scrier answered, "We only intervened after it was clear that you had lost and that you were in danger."

"Thank you," Osborn answered as he got up and began to make his way out of the room, "I'm going out for awhile. Please remain here until I tell you to leave."

The Scrier stood alone and quietly while Osborn then walked out. Half an hour later, the sound of police sirens came blaring toward the mansion. The noise attracted the Scrier's attention until the point as he watched four police cars park in front of Osborn's mansion. They quickly surrounded the mansion to make sure that no one could easily escape. Then a large looking officer pulled out a bullhorn, and began to give orders.

"Attention men in black robes," the officer screamed through the bullhorn, "This is the police. We have you surrounded. Come out with your hands up!"

The lead Scrier backed away from the window in total shock. No one knew that they had freed Osborn, let alone where they had gone with him. The pounding of footsteps soon alerted him to the fact that the other Scriers knew this also. The lead Scrier moved out of the outer room, to prevent anyone from being taken out by tear gas or any other weapon that the police might employ and moved to converse with the others.

"How can the police be here?" a large Scrier demanded, "We covered all our tracks."

"The only one who knew we were here was Osborn," another commented.

"He was on the phone with someone when he left," another Scrier brought up, "I didn't investigate because I didn't think it was serious at the time."

"He was on the phone?" the lead Scrier asked.

"Yes," the prior Scrier nodded, "I didn't hear what he was talking about, though."

The lead Scrier growled to himself and then decided to take command for himself. The group would need someone to get them out, and Osborn wasn't there to either voice his suggestion, his defense or anything else.

"We can not all stay here," the lead Scrier said, "Move in different directions and get out of here. We will meat in the old Osborn Industries docks on the west side and prepare to make our way back to Europe."

"Back to Europe?" a different Scrier questioned, "Shouldn't we simply find Osborn and get to a safe spot?"

"Yes, back to Europe," the lead Scrier said firmly, "Something tells me that Osborn is the reason why the police are here. As in he called the cops and sent them here."

"You mean he betrayed us?" a Scrier asked him.

"Precisely that," the lead Scrier answered.

**Hidden Scrier Base, Two Weeks later**

The prime Scrier council sat quietly in front of a large statue made to resemble the Great Scrier as they listened to 'lead' Scrier's report.

"You're saying that Osborn is the one who betrayed our order in New York?" the Chief of the Council asked.

"He is the only one that could have, my Lord," the 'lead' Scrier answered, "We do not know why, and anyone who has been sent to try and discover why he has betrayed us has not returned."

"The Brotherhood's rules on betrayal are simple," the Chief of the Council answered, "Osborn must die for his betrayal."

"Of course, my Lord," the 'lead' Scrier bowed.

**Fisk's Hotel Room, Present**

"And that is why we currently wish Osborn dead," the Scrier finished, "He has betrayed us and this is merely his punishment.

"Mah… tha… ith… ah… na…tee… ve…ge…sss… st… k…yuh… guh… goh… ging…" Spider-Man managed to mumble.

"How long is that gas supposed to last?" Fisk demanded, "I can't understand a word they're saying."

"A couple of hours," the Scrier answered, "It is easier this way as I am not having to explain over their interruptions. You were fortunate not to breathe in any yourself, as I'm sure our spandex wearing friends would like to know how you came into the picture."

"Yeth... we… wouhd…" Spider-Man mumbled.

"That part is relatively simple," the Scrier answered, "Soon after the order to kill Osborn was made, we began observing Osborn's behavior, but avoiding contact with him. Mostly to see if we could gain anyone to help us. We considered you, Spider-Man, as you have the strongest rivalry with Osborn in New York, but we decided against you in the end. Mostly because you would never kill Osborn, or you wouldn't simply beat him senseless and leave him for us to kill. So you were voted down."

"I… wouhd… ne…er… heh…p… yuh…" Spider-Man mumbled trying to sound angry.

"And that is why we voted you down," Scrier answered, "Then we noticed the paper trail that Osborn laid down behind the scenes to put Fisk in jail. We didn't know how this was to hurt you, but it gave us the primer opportunity to get someone who would help us kill Osborn and would have good reason to…"

**Rikers** **Island, the Past**

Fisk sat down quietly inside the small cell that he had been put in. It was actually a rather clean cell, and would have appeared to be like a college dormitory if it weren't for the fact that the door was made out of steel bars and steel bars covered the windows. He had just sat down on his bed to do some reading, when suddenly the window to his room was broken and a gas mask of all things was lying in the middle of his cell.

"What the?" Fisk mused aloud as guards came running.

"Get on the ground, Fisk," the guards ordered as they arrived.

"Gentlemen, I assure you I have done nothing," Fisk told the obviously nervous looking guards.

"Get on the ground!" the guard repeated.

There was the sound of more glass being broken echoing throughout that portion of the prison and the guard began to become extremely nervous and pulled his gun out on Fisk.

"Get on the ground!" the guard screamed.

Then, just as suddenly as everything else had begun happening, several glass spheres flew through the various broken windows and released a gas into that section of the prison. Fisk quickly grabbed the gas mask that had been thrown into his cell and fit it to his face and watched as the guard and the man in the cell across from him fell unconscious.

"What the devil is going on here?" Fisk demanded to no one as the gas dissipated.

A dark shadow slowly moved in front of Fisk's cell. The man wore a black robe and appeared to either be wearing a white mask or had very pale skin. He quickly reached down and picked the guard's keys and began unlocking Fisk's cell.

"Who are you?" Fisk demanded.

"One who is getting you out of here," the Scrier answered, "Do you wish to remain in prison?"

Fisk shook his head and slowly stepped out of his cell and looked around. The five other guards in his wing were out cold.

"We should hurry," Fisk warned as the Scrier began to lead him through the prison's hallways, "There are bound to be more guards coming when they realize that I've escaped and more police will come from New York to aide their fellow officers."

"Unnecessary," the Scrier answered as they entered a larger hallway and Fisk saw several more guards that were unconscious, "My gas took out every guard in this prison, and the NYPD is busy with matters concerning a criminal known as the Hobgoblin."

"The Hobgoblin?" Fisk asked.

"Yes," the Scrier replied, "Caused quite a stir today. He attacked the Stark Towers with a bunch of robots."

Fisk then slowly followed as the Scrier lead him out of the prison and down to a small dock near the body of water that surrounded the island.

"I thank you for freeing me," Fisk answered, "My I finally know the name of my rescuer?"

"I am a member of the Brotherhood of Scriers," Scrier answered, "I have released you from your prison, and members of my Brotherhood are currently working so that in the eyes of the law, you were released before the knockout gas was thrown into the prison, for a specific purpose."

"I am a known crime lord," Fisk answered, "I understand completely that my freedom is not to come free. What do you want?"

"Norman Osborn's head on a platter," Scrier answered.

"Norman Osborn?" Fisk answered, "You do realize that the Green Goblin has proved useful in distracting Spider-Man away from my endeavors, although I never employed him in that, or any capacity for that matter."

"Norman Osborn laid the paper trail that put you away," the Scrier answered, "It would be wise to make sure he can not repeat his crimes against you."

"Revenge is largely a sucker's game," Fisk answered, "But if what you say is true, then it would appear that Osborn has had his eyes on my 'Empire' for quite some time. I must rebuild my 'Empire' before I can deal with Osborn."

"So long as you act quickly," Scrier told the overweight crime boss, "Osborn must not escape."

**Fisk's Hotel**

"Ni… sss… steh... re..." Spider-Man mumbled out and lunged at the Scrier again, "Tuh… bu…duh… thah… yuh… or… re…vuh…geh… eh…s… he…ear."

Scrier attempted to land another blow on Spider-Man while he was still in the air, but the webbed Avenger was ready and shot a webline that wrapped around the Scrier's ankle. With a flick of his wrist he then threw Scrier into the bathroom with the Enforcers and did a back flip to land on his feet. Unfortunately, he landed too close to Fisk, who laid the strongest punch that he could on Spider-Man just as he landed. The blow knocked him to the floor and Fisk was about to step on him when Arachne kicked the overweight gangster away.

"I believe it is now time that we made our exit," Scrier said slowly as he got to his feet and produced several more glass spheres and threw them throughout the hotel room.

When the spheres shattered, they released a large amount of smoke that quickly blinded everyone in the room except Scrier. Spider-Man and Arachne coughed on the smoke for several minutes before the hotel's ventilation system finally cleared the room. When the room did clear, they found it empty. Fisk and the Scrier had evidently left, and taken both Bullseye and the Enforcers with them. The sound of police sirens echoed in the background.

"I… thing…k… we… shu…ud… guh…oh…" Spider-Man mumbled out.

"Huh?" Arachne asked back, still not having full control over her tongue thanks to the Scrier's gas.

Spider-Man then went over to Fisk's desk and began to rummage around it for a pen and paper. When he finally found something he could use he wrote down, "I think we should go home."

Arachne nodded in agreement. They weren't going to get anywhere now, and with their tongues completely numb, neither of them could understand the other. They slowly walked back to the bedroom that they had barged into when their 'sting' began and found that it had started raining while they had been inside.

"Gruh… ate…" Spider-Man grumbled as the two leaped out.

**Avengers**** Tower****, Half an Hour Later**

Aunt was just preparing to turn in for the night and was making her way to her apartment within the Avengers Tower when she found Peter and Mary Jane coming in from one of the exterior windows. Both were in costume, but had taken off their masks and both were completely soaked.

"You guys have a good night?" Aunt May asked, "Did you catch this dreadful Kingpin fellow?"

Both Peter and Mary Jane shrugged their shoulders, which didn't really answer Aunt May's question.

"Well?" Aunt May asked firmly.

"No," Spider-Man simply answered, as it was the only word that he could say without the Scrier's gas taking effect.

"Oh my," Aunt May gasped, "He wasn't there, wasn't he? I'm sorry you didn't get to capture him."

"No… ee… wuth… th…air… buh… ee… esss… ped," Mary Jane tried to explain.

Aunt May raised an eyebrow looking at both them while Peter just smacked his forehead while Mary Jane looked like she was cursing herself. She was about to say something when she was interrupted by gruff laughter. She turned to find Logan standing there with a box of donuts under his arm.

"I'm sorry, but you gotta admit that was hilarious," Logan shook his head, "Get caught in some minor electrical shock? Don't worry, it'll probably ware off in a little while. Things like that happen to rookies."

"At…yu…lee… a… sc… er… it… uh…ss… we… th… guh…ass… nd… guh…t… bo…th… ohf… us…" Peter mumbled out.

Unfortunately, that answer didn't do much to help the situation, as it only made Logan laugh harder.

"Oh this is too much," Logan laughed.

"All right," Aunt May said firmly as she looked at Logan sternly, "That's enough out of you. Take your donuts and go to bed."

Logan looked at the elderly woman for a moment and then stalked away grumbling something. This only made Peter and Mary Jane chuckle a little bit as Logan was yet to find away to stand up to a seventy year old woman.

"Now what is with you two mumbling?" Aunt May then asked as she turned on Peter and Mary Jane.

"Th…e… gah…ss… may… aide… ah…or… tuh…ung…suh… goh… nuh… mmm…" Peter answered.

Aunt May only looked on and sighed, "Do you know how long you're going to be like this?"

Both of them shook their heads.

"Just get some rest then," Aunt May sighed, "I'll try to figure what went on tomorrow."

**Elsewhere**

"Why did you tell them all that?" Fisk demanded as he smashed his fists down on an old business desk in the back end of a mechanic's shop that he had regained control of, "I thought you said you didn't want your connection or your real mission revealed?"

"And I thought you said that you had plenty of surprises for Spider-Man if he attacked you?" Scrier answered, "When I arrived I found your mighty Enforcers out cold in the bathroom and are still yet to regain consciousness and Bullseye webbed to the floor."

"That wasn't my fault!" Bullseye argued, "Most guys with powers are out of my league. Daredevil and Captain America I can consider taking on, because their powers are that of the average man. Guys that can stick to walls and react faster then any human could are too powerful for me to fight."

"Are you implying that this is my fault?" Fisk growled at his paid assassin.

Bullseye backed away shaking his head, "No, sir. I can fight with them if you need it, but guys like Spider-Man require different tactics then just revealing my position and taking him on."

"I believe it was Arachne that defeated you," Scrier pointed out.

"She moves just like her partner does," Bullseye answered, "If I didn't know better, I'd say they have the exact same powers. Dealing with them will require different tactics or someone with the ability to go toe to toe with at least one of them."

Fisk nodded and pulled himself up to sit on the table. He then glared at the Scrier with a rather frustrated look.

"You do know that Spider-Man will do whatever he can to make sure that Osborn lives," Fisk told the Scrier, "Killing something, regardless of its nature, good or evil, is not something he is comfortable with."

"An appropriate punishment for failing to lay a suitable trap for the two of them," Scrier answered firmly, "You should have done what your own agent just suggested from the start."

Fisk grumbled in a frustrated tone, but kept his voice low enough so that Scrier couldn't hear what he was saying.

"You will still be held to the bargain that you made with me, Wilson Fisk," Scrier reminded the crime lord, "You must deliver to me Norman Osborn. Should you either fail to deliever him or should you back out on the deal, you will find yourself wishing you were back in prison."

The Scrier then slowly walked away, disappearing into the shadows. Bullseye watched him go and shuddered once the black robed man was gone.

"That guy seriously gives me the creeps," Bullseye said nervously, "You sure you don't want me to whack him for ya, boss?"

"You were still conscious after Arachne webbed you to the floor, correct?" Fisk asked.

Bullseye nodded.

"He is part of a 'Brotherhood of Scriers'," Fisk answered, "Fighting him while we are still having to contend with some criminals who will refuse to accept my control of the city and our coming battle with Osborn, as well as with Spider-Man now directly involved in those engagements, we are in no shape to fight a religious Brotherhood that is quite strong and secretive."

"So what now?" Bullseye asked.

"Right now we must get to our secondary base of operations," Fisk answered, "The police are likely swarming the hotel we have just been forced out of."

"What about the guys in the other rooms?" Bullseye asked, "You want me to rescue them?"

"They should be fine so long as they don't do anything stupid," Fisk answered, "The real reason is that since Spider-Man knows of our connection to that hotel, he is likely to keep an eye on it. If we move to a different sector, we will be able to proceed unnoticed."

**Elsewhere**

Bookkeeper awoke to find himself tied to a chair in a very dark room. There was a single light that was on above him, but it did little to light the rest of the room.

"Hello?" Bookkeeper called out, "Is anyone there?"

"It's about time you got up," a voice spoke from the shadows, "I was about ready to just kill you and get it over with."

"Don't kill me!" Bookkeeper shrieked.

Bookkeeper that the owner of the voice was giving a frustrated sigh.

"Come on and grow a back bone," the voice demanded, "I will actually need your help if my fortunes are to be reversed."

"Who are you?" Bookkeeper asked suspiciously.

Bookkeeper then gasped as the man appeared out of the darkness. It was Norman Osborn of all people, dressed as the Green Goblin, but wasn't wearing his mask.

"You!" Bookkeeper gasped, "But you died. Thrown into the Hudson River by a bolt of lightning."

"I didn't die," Osborn answered, "Of course, I was in shock for a while, and I woke up about two miles out to sea, but I obviously came back. And what a world I've come back to. Spider-Man has gained a 'mysterious' redheaded partner and the Kingpin has allied himself with some former followers of mine."

"So why did you kidnap me?" Bookkeeper asked.

"Kingpin is not to be running New York crime," Osborn answered, "I want to know why the Owl allowed it."

"The Owl is in jail at the moment," Bookkeeper answered.

"Bah," Osborn growled, "My old followers found people loyal to the Kingpin while HE was in jail. Surely there are those loyal to the Owl."

"Why do you want to fight the Kingpin?" Bookkeeper asked, getting a sense at where Osborn was going.

"Because of a few reasons," Osborn answered, "Mainly because my old followers follow some incredibly stupid religion and wish to kill me. The others are largely for strategic and personal reasons."

"The Owl does want the Kingpin defeated," Bookkeeper pointed out, "You don't need to have me tied up."

"Maybe, but I need you to change your allegiance," Osborn answered.

"My allegiance?" Bookkeeper asked.

"Yes," Osborn nodded, "Instead of the Owl, you are to serve me."

"What do you want me for?" Bookkeeper asked.

"Largely surveillance," Osborn answered, "I want to know what Fisk is up to and where my old followers are hiding."

"You'll untie me if I agree?" Bookkeeper asked.

Osborn smiled, "Of course."

**Avengers**** Tower****, the Next Day**

Both Peter and Mary Jane were quite relieved to find that the Scrier's gas was only temporary and began to fill Aunt May on what had happened the night before. Both of them were also rather curious about how she knew where they had gone, and Peter was slightly embarrassed to learn that she had been helping Jarvis and saw the security camera footage of the Black Cat showing Spider-Man where the Kingpin's base was.

"Tony is going to kill me," Peter sighed, "She broke in twice in as many nights."

"At least it wasn't to steal anything," Mary Jane reminded him.

"That's probably my only defense," Peter sniffled, as if he were starting to come down with a cold now.

"So what now?" Mary Jane asked.

"Today is going to be pretty much shot," Peter answered, "I got to get the few photos I managed from last night to the Bugle and I'm sure Tony is going to want to talk about Felicia's habit of breaking into the tower."

"I was talking about the situation with the Kingpin," Mary Jane answered, "And probably with Osborn as well."

"We can't prevent Fisk from regaining power," Peter sighed, "He's already done that. We'll just have to keep our eyes out for any activity by the Scriers or whatever Fisk is doing to find Osborn. As much as I hate Norman, I can't let the Scriers kill him because he 'betrayed' them. He'd be better off in a maximum security prison for the rest of his life."

**To Be Continued… **


	5. Screaming Wolf!

All characters appearing in Spider-Man are copyrighted to Marvel Entertainment and Stan Lee. No infringement of these copyrights is intended, and is not authorized by the copyright holder. All original characters are the property of TVfan.

Note: this story is a sequel to my "A New Life" story, and begins a few days after it.

All the King's Men

By TVfan

**Chapter 5: Screaming "Wolf!"**

**Avengers** **Tower**

Peter lay somewhat uneasily in the bed that he normally shared with Mary Jane. On this Saturday morning, however, he was the only one in the bed.

"ACHOO!" Peter suddenly sneezed into a tissue that he had hastily grabbed.

"That cold has still got you down and out, huh?" came Mary Jane's voice from the doorway.

"This has to be the Green Goblin of all colds," Peter grumbled as he threw the tissue away, "I don't normally get sick. At least I haven't since I got my spider-powers."

"You did die once," Mary Jane reminded him as she placed a bowl of soup down on the small cabinet next to Peter's side of the bed.

Mary Jane then sat down on the edge of the bed, trying to keep her husband company. The day before he had gone out trying to find any sign of where Fisk or the Scrier that had helped him had fled to. It was still raining as a result of all of this and by Friday night, he had developed an obvious cold, which steadily got worse. The whole thing left Peter feeling rather embarrassed.

"I can't stay in bed all day," Peter grumbled, "I have some pictures from last night I need to deliver, and we still got to find out where Fisk went."

"You aren't going anywhere," Mary Jane answered, "This cold has to be something if it's brought you down, spider-powers and all."

"But…" Peter began to protest, but quickly grabbed a tissue and sneezed again.

"No buts," Mary Jane answered, "I agreed to be Arachne to make sure you didn't get hurt, and if that means saving you from yourself, then so be it."

"But the photos, my responsibilities," Peter protested.

"If necessary, I'll deliver the photos to the Bugle," Mary Jane answered, "but you are going to stay in bed and rest and recover."

Despite the fact that he knew he wasn't feeling all that well, Peter looked as if he would try to get up and get out of bed anyway, regardless of what MJ would do for him.

"Where do you have your photos?" Mary Jane asked.

"They're in my belt camera, with my costume," Peter answered before reaching for another tissue.

"They're not developed then?" Mary Jane asked.

"It's a digital camera," Peter replied, "No development needed."

"Ah ha," Mary Jane answered, "Well, don't worry, you just lay there and rest. Eat your soup, and I'll take care of your pictures."

"But there's still Fisk and the Scriers," Peter protested.

"Peter if it's that important that we find out where they went, Arachne will go looking for them," Mary Jane answered, "As you and Jessica keep telling me, I need the practice anyway."

"But I don't even know where to suggest you start looking," Peter protested.

"So that's an excuse to make yourself even sicker?" Mary Jane asked, "You're not well, Tiger. You even sound sick. Besides, if you're remotely thinking of going out as Spider-Man anyway, you'll have to go naked, as Aunt May has your costume in the wash."

Peter gasped in surprise.

"She also can't believe how many times you sneezed in the mask," Mary Jane continued.

"But I normally wash my own costume," Peter answered.

"Given how under the weather you were last night, and still under the weather this morning, May and I decided to do you a favor," Mary Jane answered, "And if you talk any more about wanting to get out of bed, I'm going to web you to it."

Peter then took a sip of his soup and slowly nodded.

"Yes, ma'am," Peter answered.

**Elsewhere**

"Spider-Man is John Jameson?" Fisk asked in a surprised voice, "That can not be possible."

"That's what the Bugle's files say," the suited lieutenant answered, "At least the files that only Jonah Jameson himself would be able to access."

"That would explain why the Bugle began running such 'positive' press about Spider-Man recently," Fisk mused, "Possibly why Arachne is also seen in a positive light."

"Sir?" the lieutenant asked.

"You've done well," Fisk answered, "The spy you hired to break into the Bugle building last night did an excellent job. You may leave now."

"Thank you, sir," the lieutenant answered with a nod and then left.

"John Jameson is not Spider-Man," came the Scrier's voice from a dark corner of the room.

Fisk looked over to where Scrier was standing, as he had known he was standing there the entire time.

"And why is finding out Spider-Man's identity so important to killing Osborn now?" the Scrier asked.

"My men are currently looking for Osborn," Fisk answered, "And the Black Cat has yet to report back with any information."

"Hasn't her time expired?" the Scrier questioned.

"She still has two days," Fisk replied, "Besides, since Spider-Man and Arachne forced me out of my last headquarters, it is obvious that they intend to fight both of us. A task that has been relatively easy for them since the Bugle has been printing such 'positive' stories about Spider-Man."

"And you suspected that that John Jameson was Spider-Man and wanted confirmation?" the Scrier asked.

"No," Fisk sighed, "I sent in a small team to find out why the Bugle quit calling Spider-Man a menace. And they've apparently came across one of Jonah Jameson's private files that indicates that his son is Spider-Man. And it would explain why the Bugle has portrayed Spider-Man in such a positive light recently."

"Too bad that John Jameson isn't Spider-Man," the Scrier commented.

"And how do you know?" Fisk asked.

"During our time under Osborn's leadership, we learned much about what he knows," the Scrier answered, "And Osborn knows WHO Spider-Man is. Spider-Man is not John Jameson."

"I don't suppose you would tell me who he is, then?" Fisk questioned.

"No," the Scrier answered, "Osborn made knew Spider-Man's identity and made the fight personal. That is one of the reasons Osborn became so obsessed with defeating Spider-Man. Your mission is to kill Norman Osborn."

"Which will be easier without Spider-Man," Fisk answered, "He and Arachne will present powerful thorns in my side. And the fact that Jameson isn't Spider-Man is quite helpful. If the Bugle is only printing stories that say Spider-Man is a hero because the publisher believes his son is Spider-Man, all we have to do is prove that John Jameson isn't Spider-Man. An attack on the Bugle building when he happens to be there would be an excellent opportunity to do so."

"Hm," the Scrier thought aloud, "That would keep Spider-Man busy for a time… very well. You have the Scriers' consent to deal with John Jameson, so long as you pay your debt to us."

The Scrier then reached inside his robes and pulled out a red ruby that was inside a glass case.

"See that this somehow finds its way onto John Jameson and you will give Jonah all the proof he needs that he isn't Spider-Man," the Scrier said with a smile.

**Warehouse, West Side**

"There's been no sign of Fisk over the past two days," Bookkeeper reported nervously, "I haven't even been able to see if I could locate any of these Scriers."

"It's doubtful that you could have found a Scrier," Osborn answered quietly, "They are masters of both mystics and martial arts. They have more likely spotted you."

"Then won't they come after me?" Bookkeeper asked nervously.

"Of course not," Osborn shrugged, "They prefer to manipulate others to do their bidding for them, and with Fisk at their beck and call, they won't do anything to you, although they might follow your every move."

That didn't make Bookkeeper feel any safer, although the man who was also known as the Green Goblin was not one of the more comforting people in the world either.

"So, you could find any sign of Fisk either?" Osborn asked.

"Yes," Bookkeeper nodded nervously, "He got attacked in his hotel by someone and has apparently gone underground or something."

"No doubt it was Spider-Man and his new 'partner'," Osborn said with a smile, "And Fisk has probably just moved his headquarters to a new location, not gone underground."

"Well I don't know where he's moved his headquarters to then," Bookkeeper answered.

"Keep looking then," Osborn said firmly, "I will need to deal with Fisk sooner or later, and I would like to know where he is, and what he is up to."

"You want me to spy on him?" Bookkeeper asked in a surprised voice.

"When you find him," Osborn smiled, "Although it will mean that you will have to break your vows to the Owl for the time being."

Bookkeeper gulped knowing that Fisk would not trust him easily for the fact that he had served the Owl alone, and if he found out that he was now in league with Norman Osborn, he could be in even more trouble, if he was spying on Fisk.

"Have any of the smaller gangs that you tried to recruit done anything?" Osborn asked.

"Not that I've seen, although with Fisk's headquarters being attacked, they might think that he's been beaten already," Bookkeeper answered.

"A pity," Osborn shrugged, "But no matter. The major crime families in this city are all about their leaders. All I need you to do is find Fisk, and let me know when he'll be alone. Then his organization will be mine. Now, GO!"

Bookkeeper scrambled out of the warehouse as quickly as he could and began to resume his search for the Kingpin's new headquarters.

**Outside the Daily Bugle Building**

John Jameson walked quietly toward the Daily Bugle's main doors dressed fairly casually. It wasn't one of those days that he was generally fond of, but it was something that was every bit as important as many of the things he had done for NASA, but he was still wondering if he should reinstate his commission, if only to avoid these days. It wasn't that he hated his father or that he disliked spending time with him, but the days when he was called in to listen in on the Bugle's main meetings were days when his dad would try to get him to either volunteer to join the Bugle staff, or listen to his father's 'new' opinions of Spider-Man.

He had no interest in being a journalist, and while he was glad that his father wasn't trying get Spider-Man arrested, he we was beginning to regret agreeing with the hero to fool his father into thinking HE was Spider-Man. Modesty was never his dad's best capability when he 'liked' something.

He just rounded a corner when bumped into a woman wearing a long trench coat. The impact knocked both of them to the ground.

"I'm sorry ma'am," John spoke as he picked himself up and went to help the woman up, "I didn't see you there."

"It's all right," the woman said, dropping a red ruby into one of the pockets on John's windbreaker, "I should have been paying attention to where I was going."

The women then began walking again, leaving John to look back in her direction with a rather puzzled look on his face. Eventually he shrugged and went into the building. He found his dad waiting for him inside the lobby.

"Well, here he is, the conquering hero!" J. Jonah Jameson said with a proud grin.

"Knock it off, dad," John answered, "You know that sort of thing embarrasses me. Why are you waiting down here anyway? You usually have your meetings up in the main management room."

"Usually do, and we will, but Parker is late with the 'Spider-Man' photos today, so I'm waiting for him to show up, so I can fire him," Jonah answered.

"I thought you only 'hired' freelance photographers," John commented, "You can't really fire him, because he isn't officially on your payroll. And you know he always gets the best shots of Spider-Man. He could easily work for the New York Times."

"Okay, I'll just berate him a little," Jonah answered, "It still costs me money when I have to wait for my front page pictures."

"Why don't we go ahead and get through with the meeting first," John suggested, "Pete hasn't ever let you down as a photographer. I mean, he gets the best pictures of Spider-Man and has always brought them to you and settled for way less then what they're worth."

Jonah patted him on the back, "Fine, I'll say nothing out loud, but I will grumble a little bit to myself."

The two then began to walk back toward the main elevators while John tugged at his shirt collar.

"Is it hot in here to you, dad?" John asked.

"It's the same as it's always been," Jonah answered.

"Strange," John commented.

Mary Jane arrived at the building about ten minutes later with Peter's belt camera inside her purse. When she got to the main office area, she found it rather empty with all of the editorial and publishing offices empty.

"This is got to be the quietest a place like this has ever been," Mary Jane commented.

"That's because' Jonah's holding a major meeting to see what the Bugle will spend the next week or so covering," came a voice from a nearby cubicle.

Mary Jane looked over to see a brown haired woman sticking her head out of the cubicle.

"When will they be done?" Mary Jane asked.

"Don't know," the woman answered, "What brings you here?"

Mary Jane sat down in a chair outside Jonah's office, "Peter's feeling pretty under the weather and is under 'wife's orders' to remain in bed.

"Wife's orders?" the other woman asked.

"More powerful then any doctor," Mary Jane answered back, "Anyway, with Peter being sick, I had to bring in his photographs."

"Of Spider-Man and his new partner I presume?" the woman questioned.

Mary Jane slowly nodded.

"I don't suppose Peter's told you anything has he?" the woman asked again, "I mean, him being Spider-Man's personal photographer and all, he has to know something."

"All he does is take pictures," Mary Jane answered.

"Drat," the woman grumbled, "Jameson makes me the Bugle's 'Superhero' Correspondent, and my best story is on the 'Young Avengers'."

Mary Jane finally recognized the woman.

"You're Jessica Jones, then right?" Mary Jane asked.

"Formerly Jewel, I know," Jess answered, "I prefer to put that phase of my life behind me."

Mary Jane tried to avoid shrugging, as she didn't know there ever was a hero called 'Jewel', although there were a lot of heroes in the New York area, and she could never keep all of the straight and hoped Peter wasn't going to grill her on 'who's who' as part of her training.

"Well, I'm sorry," Mary Jane answered, "Peter only takes the pictures. And I thought your story on the Young Avengers was pretty good."

Meanwhile in the board room where Jonah was busy going on about the Bugle's circulation and what needed to be done, John sat quietly in the chair he had been allowed to sit in. Ever since he had bumped into that woman at the corner, he had been feeling rather strangely. The room felt hot to him, and he was now getting an itchy sensation all over his back. His father asking him a question suddenly brought his mind back to the meeting.

"John," Jonah spoke louder, shaking him a bit, "I was thinking about keeping Spider-Man as our main front page article. Show the world how heroic he is, and uh, how his relationship with a certain red haired heroine is progressing."

John slowly nodded, "It's your paper dad. If that's what you want to print, then go ahead."

John then placed his hands in his pockets, and began to think over the recent appearance of Arachne. That in itself was a problem. Much of the coverage on Spider-Man and Arachne, including non-print media, seemed to indicate that the two were romantically involved. Now, while he wasn't about to tell one of New York's best heroes who he couldn't and could date, considering the fact that the two of them had collaborated to get his father to drop a bounty over finding out Spider-Man's identity, which involved tricking Jonah into believing that he was Spider-Man. Because of that, Jonah had almost taken a parent's interest in Spider-Man, and unfortunately, none of the women that John new well enough to date had red hair.

As his hands reached the bottom of his windbreaker's pockets, however, his thoughts were quickly taken away from his concerns with his past bargain with Spider-Man. He felt a smooth gem that was about the size of his palm sitting in the bottom of his windbreaker. He quickly pulled it out to reveal a red ruby that was glowing brightly.

"What the?" John gasped in surprise.

"John, where did you get that?" Jonah asked, with all the other men and women in the room focused on him, and didn't miss John pulling the ruby out of his pocket.

"I don't know," John answered, "I bumped into some strange woman on the way in… she must have slipped it in my pocket, but I don't know why."

"That woman must have tried to set you up for something!" Jonah exclaimed, "It's the only possibility. We need to get down to the NYPD and report that you found a stolen item."

The ruby's glow had since become stronger, and John seemed to be transfixed by it.

"It kinda looks like a gemstone I found on the moon once," John commented, as if in a trance.

"Something's wrong," Robbie Robertson spoke up as he got out of his seat, "We got to get that thing off of him."

Robbie then reached for the ruby, which was still in John's hand, when John suddenly grabbed it and thrust Robbie backward into the other executives of the Daily Bugle.

"John, what's wrong with you?" Jonah demanded, "You can't treat them like that."

"MINE!" John growled loudly as he clutched the ruby close to his chest.

Jonah suddenly backed away. His son's eyes were glowing the same red color as the ruby was. The ruby itself then erupted in a ball of red light, which somehow destroyed John's jacket and shirt and imbedded itself in John's chest. Patches of white fur were beginning to appear on John's body as he began to literally growl in his seat. His fingernails began to lengthen into actual claws while his teeth began to grow sharper.

**Rooftop across the Street**

The woman that bumped into John earlier in the day lowered a pair of binoculars and picked up a small cell phone and dialed a number. It was the Kingpin who answered.

"My part of the plan is successful," the woman spoke calmly, "The Scrier's ruby has turned John Jameson into a white furred werewolf."

"Excellent," came Fisk's voice from the other line, "This will hopefully lead to Spider-Man having to deal with negative press, once more. Now, what is the main situation in my city?"

"No major problems from the other families," the woman answered, "Hammerhead is still in the hospital's intensive care unit, and his gang seems to be paralyzed because of it. Fortunato and Jimmy Six have been rather quiet, although I'd presume it's because Fortunato and Jimmy Six are probably arguing about whether or not they should be fighting you at the moment."

"That is to be expected," Fisk answered, "Hammerhead for some reason loves the 'Al Capone' era of gangsters, so his entire organization as rather top down. And because of Fortunato's age, he has to share leadership with Jimmy Six, making their organization a two headed monster. While it's dangerous if both are united, so long as one head is against the other, it is quite harmless."

"The big news appears to be out of several of the smaller gangs that normally paid tribute to you in order to stay in business," the woman commented.

"What is this now?" Fisk asked.

"The Owl's bookkeeper's been going around trying to get the smaller gangs to band together and fight you," the woman answered, "Apparently the Owl took your message personally. Although none of the smaller gangs seemed to really listen to him."

"Apparently he did," Fisk answered, "I'll need to get back to you."

"Of course sir," the woman answered.

**The Kingpin's New Headquarters**

"So, Bookkeeper," Fisk spoke in a calm voice, hiding the fact that he knew that Bookkeeper had been trying to engineer a gang war against him, "What has brought about your change of mind and made you wish to work for me?"

"Well, I… uh…," Bookkeeper stuttered, not sure of what to say to get the large man to believe him.

"Especially since I've just heard from one of my informants that you've been trying to start a gang war against me?" Fisk continued.

"I didn't!" Bookkeeper almost literally squeaked.

"You did," Fisk replied, "All the small gangs on the west side are making jokes about your feeble attempts to unseat me. It is only because of their loyalty that I have not called in the Enforcers from outside my office."

"I only did it because the Owl told me to," Bookkeeper said weakly, "I don't want to die."

Fisk raised his hands up to his chin, as if he was thinking.

"What devoted loyalty to a man that is currently in jail," Fisk commented, "Most of the Owl's direct followers joined my organization shortly after I busted up your little meeting."

"The Owl has been the only boss I've ever had that didn't fire me," Bookkeeper answered, "Of course, he's also been my only boss that was a criminal, but that's different."

"Why were you fired by your legal employers?" Fisk questioned.

"Embezzlement," Bookkeeper answered, "But I didn't do anything like that under the Owl."

"Continue with your story," Fisk ordered.

"Anyway, he's been my only boss to never fire me, and really, I wouldn't be alive right now if it weren't for him," Bookkeeper continued, sounding increasingly nervous, "Most of the other crime lords never liked me for some reason, but the Owl protected me."

Fisk nodded with a confident smile on his face.

"And… and with the Owl in jail now, I've lost that protection," Bookkeeper stuttered out.

"Ah, so when the minor gangs wouldn't follow the Owl's orders that you delivered for him, you realized you needed to transfer you allegiance from the new Kingpin to the old Kingpin?" Fisk asked.

"Precisely," Bookkeeper said with an almost eager nod.

"Very well," Fisk commented, "I'll give you a chance. I'll give you the opportunity to balance the books for my organization."

"Thank you, Mr. Kingpin, sir," Bookkeeper answered in a groveling tone.

"Vinny will show you to where you will be working," Fisk answered in a dismissive voice, waiving for the Bookkeeper to go.

Bookkeeper quickly left saying 'thank you' as he went. Once the door shut, Fisk pushed a small buzzer that was under his desk, which activated an intercom with any and all agents in his employ.

"Nobody," Fisk spoke, "Come into my office please."

A few seconds later, the criminal agent, who Spider-Man and Arachne had dealt with several days before appeared in Fisk's office.

"You called for me sir?" Nobody spoke.

"Yes," Fisk leaned forward, "As most of my agents are directly involved in the present hunt for Norman Osborn or preparing for possible encounters with Spider-Man and his partner, I have to give you a new assignment concerning a recent hiring I have made."

"I'll do anything you tell me to, sir," Nobody answered, hoping to get away from scrubbing toilets.

"Good," Fisk replied and then ordered, "You are to tail the Owl's Bookkeeper. He's currently now in my employ balancing my books. You are to remain within ear shot of him wherever he goes. I have a hunch that frightened little man will lead us to Osborn."

**Daily** **Bugle Building**

"Run! He's a monster!" a suited elderly man screamed as he ran out of a conference room and into the main area where Mary Jane was still waiting to deliver Peter's pictures.

That got the attention of everyone in the room.

"I didn't know Jameson was that hard you guys," Mary Jane commented, trying to sound humorous.

"He works everyone hard, but I don't think anyone's ever called him a monster," Jess told her.

"No, it's not Jonah," the man said pointing back to the doors he'd just run through, "It's his son."

"What?!" was the chorus of voices from the people that gathered around him.

"Yeah, he pulled some sort of ruby out of his pocket and turned into a werewolf," the man said in a very frightened voice.

"But don't werewolves in myth require a full moon and for it to be night out?" Jess asked him.

"I don't know," the man answered, "I'm just telling you what I saw, and now I'm getting out of here while I still have a throat."

The man then ran off toward the elevator as one or two other members of the Daily Bugle's publishers and editors came running out to follow him. Jonah was not among them, but an audible scream was heard coming from the hallway and room beyond.

"Jeez, we gotta evacuate," Jess said allowed.

"I'll make sure everyone gets to an elevator," Mary Jane volunteered, "You call for help."

"Yeah," Jess replied, "Don't wait up."

Mary Jane began funneling people toward the elevators, trying to keep them all as calm as possible, but the sounds of some sort of growling creature were now beginning to become audible and that only added to the panic. Jess meanwhile ducked into her cubicle and dialed the Avengers number, getting Jarvis.

"Avengers Tower, Edwin Jarvis, speaking, to which Avenger may I direct your call?" Jarvis answered through the phone.

"Any or all of them," Jess answered, "This is Jessica at the Daily Bugle, Luke's wife, Jessica. We've got a werewolf or some sort of creature here and it's got Jonah Jameson trapped in the main conference rooms."

"Oh my," Jarvis answered, "I'll send over whoever is available."

Meanwhile, Mary Jane was doing her best to keep all these other people calm as they got into the elevators.

"What about Jessica?" called one of the other reporters that was there.

"She said she'll catch up," Mary Jane answered, "Besides, all the elevators are fully loaded."

The group managed to quiet down as the elevator went down towards the ground floor. Once there, Mary Jane ducked inside the closest women's bathroom she could find. Checking the room with both her eyes and spider-sense, she then webbed the door shut behind her and began to change into her costume.

On the top floor, Jess meanwhile made sure that whatever this creature was, whether he was John Jameson or not, couldn't get out of the area where he presently was. Mostly barring doors with whatever heavy object was close, but she didn't do anything else, as she didn't want to risk leaving her newborn with out a mother. As she came out into the lobby she saw blue mask covering most of a woman's face, leaving her mouth, chin, and part of her checks exposed to the air hanging upside down outside the window to the area. Her long red hair dangling down toward the ground below.

She quickly approached the window, and after opening it, she looked around.

"You're the only one the Avengers sent?" Jess asked as she opened the window, letting Arachne come in.

"Wha…?" Arachne asked back, "I just happened to be swinging by and heard a lot of screaming coming from inside. Thought I should check it out."

"So the Avengers didn't send you?" Jess questioned.

"Why would they? I'm not an Avenger," Arachne answered.

"You're partnered with Spider-Man, and he's an Avenger now," Jess replied.

"Doesn't mean I am," Arachne shot back, "Besides, they have all the spider people they need."

"Is Spider-Man with you?" Jess asked, "Or on his way?"

"He's busy dealing this gang war that has blown up recently," Arachne answered, not wanting to repeat the same thing she had said as Mary Jane, "Silvermane's murder and all that."

Jess slowly nodded, "So you just happened to arrive."

"Yeah," Arachne answered, starting to sound annoyed, "What's going on?"

"Well," Jess began to explain, "From what I've heard, John Jameson, he's Jonah Jameson's son, has turned into some sort of werewolf."

"In broad daylight?" Arachne asked.

"It's what I was told," Jess answered, "Anyway, I've hopefully made sure that he can't get off this floor without coming through here, and I was hoping the Avengers would arrive before he gets the chance to leave."

"I guess I'll have to do for now, then," Arachne commented and began to walk slowly towards main doors and then turned around again, "Did Jonah Jameson come out this way?"

"I don't know," Jess answered, "I didn't see him come out, but there were so many people running and screaming I didn't have time to do an effective identity check."

"Great," Arachne commented as she stepped through the door to look into the deserted hallway.

Things there had become strangely quiet as she walked down it. She couldn't even hear the sounds of the creature all that well.

"He must have quieted down," Arachne thought to herself, "Or changed back."

As she neared the end of the hallway she found out that she was wrong. John had not changed back.

"Come on John," came Jonah's voice from what appeared to be a break room that had its door ripped from its hinges, "This isn't like you. You're not supposed to do this."

Arachne peered around the corner to see a large white furred wolf creature with glowing red eyes and a red ruby lodged in its chest eating the contents of a small plastic container that it had pulled out of a small mini-fridge. Both Jameson and Robbie Robertson were huddled in a nearby corner. Jameson looked as if he was trying to reason with the creature, while Robertson was trying to keep his editor in chief/publisher from being eaten himself.

"John, you need to fight what's happened to you, like you do with the bad guys," Jonah insisted.

"Jonah, what are you talking about," Robbie spoke up quietly, "It's too dangerous here. We need to get out of here and find someone to take care of the situation."

"Robbie, you don't understand," Jonah answered, "He's supposed to be the person to take care of these situations."

"What are you talking about," Robbie answered, "That ruby just turned your son into a werewolf, how is he supposed to be the one to take care of the situation?"

"He's Spider-Man, Robbie," Jonah answered, "That's why he's supposed to be able to deal with these sorts of situations."

Robbie looked as if he was going to have a heart attack he was so surprised, but couldn't do anything to ask as the creature, known to others as Man-Wolf, raised his head and growled at both of them, dropping a half eaten sandwich to the floor.

"I'm sorry, son," Jonah whimpered.

Man-Wolf raised his fists is if to attack and unleashed a mighty roar at both men, making them duck down as if to try and take the blow or at least dive away from it. He never got the chance to try and land his blow, as he heard a sudden 'thwip' come from behind him and then felt two weblines wrap around his wrists, and was then pulled backwards off his feet.

"I'm sorry, but journalist steaks have been recalled because of recent discoveries of extensive vocabularies in their system," Arachne quipped, "Supposedly very bad for a wolf's 'GRR' language."

"Arachne!" Jonah and Robbie gasped in surprise.

Arachne quickly wrapped Man-Wolf up in webs in an attempt to try and restrain him from doing anything.

"Good, you all know my name," Arachne smiled, "I don't suppose you two would care to evacuate? I don't know how long my webbing will hold him."

Robbie looked down to see Man-Wolf struggling to escape and the heroine's webbing was already straining to keep him wrapped up.

"But he's my son!" Jonah answered.

Man-Wolf then broke free of Arachne's webbing and prepared to lunge at the two men, when Arachne grabbed him from behind, in the hopes of keeping him from attacking.

"I'm gonna try and see if I can get him back to normal, but it'll be a lot easier if he's not trying to kill you or me," Arachne answered, "You two go. Everything will be fine."

"She's right, Jonah, there is nothing we can do," Robbie urged, "Once he calms down, we can risk it. But not right now."

"Fine," Jonah finally gave in and rushed around the wrestling heroine and wolf, "Don't hurt him, okay."

"Don't worry," Arachne answered, "Restraint is my goal. I don't want to hurt him."

With that, Jonah and Robbie ran out of the room. Almost at the same time when they left, Man-Wolf managed to grab Arachne's arms and throw her against the wall. She ended up landing upside down on a couch that was in the room. Arachne then felt her 'spider-sense' buzz extremely hard and looked up to see Man-Wolf in mid air flying toward her.

"Great, heroine to lunch in sixty seconds," Arachne grumbled and kicked with both feet, aiming at Man-Wolf's shoulders.

She was successful, and the blow threw Man-Wolf back against the far wall, denting it slightly between his greater weight and the momentum he going at after Arachne kicked him. Arachne then pulled herself back to her feet as the Man-Wolf looked at her with predatory eyes. Man-Wolf then leaped again at Arachne, but she ducked down and wrapped his muzzle up in webbing.

Man-Wolf then crashed into the wall as he couldn't maneuver to counter Arachne and began to wrestle with the webbing around his muzzle. Arachne then hit him with another series of weblines, hoping to web his hands to his face. Man-Wolf only growled and ripped his hands free, leaving claw marks across his face, but freeing his hands and his muzzle of webbing.

"Great," Arachne grumbled, "the humane approach isn't working, so what do I do now? I don't want to hurt him."

Man-Wolf then grabbed the couch that was below him and literally threw it at Arachne. She easily managed to dodge and get to a new position, but while she dodged, Man-Wolf took the opportunity to flee from the room.

"Great," Arachne grumbled aloud.

Meanwhile, back out in the main lounge room, Jess sat quietly waiting for the Avengers to send their 'rescue' force. Jonah and Robbie had slowly made their way out into the room and neither looked harmed. Almost at the same time, Iron Man and Luke arrived and came in through the window that Jess had opened for Arachne.

"Jess! Are you alright?" Luke spoke quickly, grabbing her in tight hug.

"Yeah I'm fine," Jess answered, "I haven't actually seen the creature…"

"That's my son you're talking about," Jonah growled, sounding as if was insulted.

"Well, I'm sorry but people came running out here screaming 'he's a monster' isn't very descriptive as to what is going on," Jess answered.

"We'd best do something then," Iron Man commented, "Before he hurts himself or someone else."

"You people aren't needed," Jonah growled, still having a heavy distrust for Luke Cage, "Arachne is already dealing with the situation."

They then heard the sound of footsteps coming down the hall and followed by a heavy New York/New Jersey accent shouting, "and where do you think you're going?"

"That must be her," Iron Man answered and led Luke toward the doors.

Arachne had caught Man-Wolf from behind with a webline again as he tried to flee into the common area. She then pulled back with all her might, bringing Man-Wolf to the ground. He then leaped back onto his feet and refocused his attention on Arachne, who was pretty sure she couldn't restrain him without knocking him out first.

"Come on then," Arachne spoke, trying to hide the fact that Man-Wolf's wild appearance and animal like behavior frightened her.

Man-Wolf roared and lunged forward. Thankfully warned by her 'spider-sense', Arachne leaped straight up in the air and managed to land a blow with both fists to the back of Man-Wolf's skull. She then flipped in mid air and landed on his back. These combined blows disoriented Man-Wolf, whose momentum made him slide into the wall at the end of the hallway. The impact of hitting the wall finally knocked Man-Wolf out. Arachne meanwhile stood looking at the unconscious Man-Wolf, wondering how much of that last maneuver was from her training sessions with Peter or out of some sort of instinct.

"Well, it seems you do have things under control," came Iron Man's voice from the doorway.

Arachne looked back to see the armored avenger standing in the doorway with Luke behind him.

"I just happened to be in the area," Arachne answered with a slight shrug.

"What made this guy freak out like this?" Luke asked.

"Jonah was babbling about some sort of ruby on his chest," Arachne answered, rolling Man-Wolf over, in order to let Iron Man and Luke look at it, and the ruby was still glowing.

"We'll need to get him back to the tower," Iron Man commented, "That thing looks like it's embedded inside him. I don't think we can remove it that easily here."

Arachne picked Man-Wolf up and nodded.

"Plus the fact that Spider-Man's had the most experience with dealing with Man-Wolf then the rest of us," Arachne commented, "And since he's there, we need to bring the problem to him."

Luke chuckled a bit, "He tried to join us when he heard about it. It's amazing the personality that your Aunt has."

"Which is good," Arachne answered as the walked back into the main press room where Jess, Jonah and Robbie were still standing somewhat in shock.

"He's not hurt, is he?" Jonah asked.

"He's unconscious, but other then that, he's fine," Arachne answered, "We're just going to take him back to the Avengers Tower and figure out what's wrong."

"I thought you said you weren't an Avenger," Jess commented.

"But my quote-unquote boyfriend is an Avenger, and he lets me use the Avenger's facilities," Arachne answered, "And no one's kicked me out yet."

"We consider her a sort of 'reserve' member," Iron Man explained, "Although, that's unofficial."

"Hmph," Jonah commented, "and how serious is your relationship with Spider-Man?"

"No comment," Arachne answered.

"No comment?" Jonah growled.

"No comment," Arachne repeated, and began to walk towards the window with Man-Wolf over her shoulder.

"Robbie and I are coming along," Jonah answered, "Make sure nothing happens to my son."

"Of course," Iron Man nodded.

"Can I come too?" Jess asked, "I mean, no one's been able to interview Arachne yet, so…"

"I don't mind," Arachne answered, "Although I can only carry one person at a time."

"I can deal with that," Iron Man answered, "Although it will still mean at least two trips."

"We'll take the stairs if you don't mind," Jonah answered.

"Suit yourself," Iron Man and then rocketed out the window, holding Luke with one hand and Jess with the other.

**Avengers Quinjet**

Man-Wolf was safely secured once Arachne brought him into the Quinjet and the group began what would be a very quick flight back to the Avengers Tower. Robbie now took the time to ask Jonah a question that had been on his mind since Arachne's arrival.

"Jonah, where did you get the idea that your son was Spider-Man?" Robbie whispered in a voice that the others wouldn't hear.

"Parker brought me photographs of John in Spider-Man's costume doing rather ordinary things," Jonah answered back as quietly as he could, "and I couldn't believe it at first, but Parker's never lied to me before and once I got used to it, I saw how much of a fool I've been. Every time I called Spider-Man a menace, I called my son a menace. How could I have been so foolish?"

"I'm glad to see you've finally changed your mind on Spider-Man, but why would Peter bring you photos of Spider-Man with his mask off?" Robbie asked, "He's said as much that he doesn't know who Spider-Man is, and something has always struck me is that Peter wouldn't reveal who Spider-Man was, even if he did know."

"Spider-Man got pretty badly beaten up in a fight, and ended up in a hospital," Jonah explained, "And while they didn't remove his mask, it was torn up enough that you could practically se his face, but it was too badly beaten and bruised to be recognizable."

"Let me guess," Robbie sighed in a disapproving voice, "You posted a reward for anyone who could reveal Spider-Man's identity."

Jonah only looked down.

"That's a new low for you," Robbie sighed, "If I hadn't been there, you wouldn't have done such a thing."

"If I knew then what I know now, I wouldn't have done such a thing," Jonah answered.

Iron Man easily landed the Quinjet in the roof hanger of the Avengers Tower and then began to move the hover gurney that held Man-Wolf out. Arachne, Luke, and Jess followed with a semi nervous Jonah and Robbie behind them.

"We'll take him down to the medical wing, and specifically the lab section," Iron Man commented, "Spider-Man said he'd meet us there."

"Spider-Man?" Jonah asked aloud.

"Yes," Iron Man answered, "He's dealing with a pretty bad cold right now, but he's still an Avenger."

"But how can Spider-Man be waiting here?" Jonah asked, "When that is Spider-Man there."

Arachne sighed as she knew that Jonah was pointing at Man-Wolf.

"Um, excuse me, but this ain't Spider-Man," Luke commented, "It's even too hairy to be Wolverine, and that's saying something."

"Jonah believes his son is Spider-Man," Arachne spoke up.

"I don't believe, I know," Jonah said firmly.

By that time the elevator had stopped and they stepped out into the medical lab to find Spider-Man sitting in a chair next to the main medical table. His mask was partially off so that his nose and mouth were showing, but nothing else, and he had a box of tissues in his lap. He looked slightly surprised that Jonah, Robbie, and Jess were also there, but quickly recovered.

"As you can see," Arachne finished, "Jonah believed his son was Spider-Man."

Jonah then boiled over in rage and blew his top.

"I'M GOING TO KILL PARKER WHEN I SEE HIM NEXT!" Jonah screamed, "THE NERVE OF THAT… THAT… THAT MAN TO PLAY A JOKE ON ME!"

Spider-Man then pulled his mask back down.

"It's good to see you too, Skinflint," Spider-Man quipped.

Jonah advanced on him, "How dare you trick me! I'm sure you were involved."

"Both your son and I were involved," Spider-Man answered.

"WHAT?!" Jonah roared, "How dare you bring my son into YOUR treachery?"

"Do you even realize the consequences of your own actions?" Spider-Man asked.

"What?" Jonah growled.

"That stupid reward you announced for someone discovering my identity," Spider-Man answered, "Do you understand what that caused?"

"It caused a hunt to find out who you are and stop your menace to society, so people like my son aren't suffering right now," Jonah said firmly.

"What do you mean hunt?" Spider-Man answered, "The only guy who took my picture was Peter Parker and he never took a picture of me without my mask on. Most of the guys 'hunting' for 'Spider-Man's' identity knew they could never find out who I was, but the fact that you throw around a million dollars like its toilet paper on stupid stuff like this makes them willing to try easier paths. How many guys came into your own offices in a Spider-Man costume and took the mask off?"

"At least ten dozen," Jonah answered.

"Jonah!" Robbie scolded him.

"Your reward also caused the death of at least one New Yorker," Spider-Man continued, now in an accusing tone himself, "Two guys go up on a roof, one dressed as me, and both with the intention of cashing in on your reward. Problem is, one of my villains saw the one in my costume and thought it was me, and killed him outright. He didn't even realize it wasn't the real Spider-Man that he'd killed till his friend came out of hiding, tears in his eyes, and actually told the villain that his victim wasn't Spider-Man."

"You murdered someone?!" Robbie gasped at Jonah.

"I'm not responsible for something some villain does," Jonah said indignantly, "The guy was probably stupid and probably deserved it."

"Maybe so," Iron Man spoke up, "But if you hadn't put up the reward, do you think he would still put on the costume, even without powers and outside of Halloween?"

"No," Jonah answered.

"Then you could very well be guilty under 'attractive nuisance' laws," Iron Man answered, "the money made someone do something they normally wouldn't and got them killed as a result."

"Jonah, if you want me to keep editing your paper, you're going to stop writing editorials all together," Robbie said firmly.

"But I'm a journalist!" Jonah answered back.

"You're a too bit hack who's obsessed with trying to prove Spider-Man is the opposite of what he is, and it's finally come to a point where you're willing to let people die in order for you to win a pointless personal victory against Spider-Man," Robbie answered back, his own temper now completely blown, "Either I go back to retirement, after denouncing you in my OWN editorial, or you only focus on doing the basic job of any other publisher."

"But…" Jonah pleaded.

"Take it or leave it," Robbie answered.

"I'm sorry to interrupt all of this, but shouldn't we be focusing on what's happened to John?" Jess spoke up.

That brought everyone's attention back to Man-Wolf, who was still unconscious. Spider-Man looked Man-Wolf over and looked at the red ruby embedded in his chest.

"What caused this?" Spider-Man asked.

"Mr. Jameson told me that that ruby caused the transformation," Arachne commented, "But other then that, I don't think anyone knows."

"Where did the ruby come from?" Iron Man asked.

"John said something about some strange woman slipping it into his coat pocket," Jonah answered, "Right before he changed."

Spider-Man looked at the ruby for a moment, then lifted his mask slightly and sneezed into a tissue and then scratched his head.

"It looks like the original moonstone, but," Spider-Man began.

"But?" Luke answered.

"Original?" Jonah and Robbie asked.

"This isn't the first time that John has been the Man-Wolf," Spider-Man explained slowly, "When he first set foot on the moon, he found a strange red stone there that began turning him into Man-Wolf when he returned to Earth. But this whole situation is very strange, although I have a suspicion of how this ruby was able to affect him so."

"It can't be any stranger then it already is," Luke commented.

"Oh yes it can," Spider-Man answered, "After I beat Man-Wolf once and for all, I was able to get help that made John immune to the moonstone's effects and reduced it to powder. It's impossible to put back together, and even if it was, it wouldn't affect John in any way."

"So how do you think this stone is affecting him?" Iron Man asked.

"Given who and what Arachne have had to deal with lately, I wouldn't be surprised if the ruby was augmented mystically to have similar affects as the moonstone once did," Spider-Man commented, "Especially as he looks like he did as the original Man-Wolf."

"Can you make him normal again?" Jonah demanded.

"I think so," Spider-Man shrugged, "The moonstone's affects weren't permanent, but this ruby isn't the original moonstone, largely because it's embedded itself in John's chest. I think it has to be mystical in nature, and needs physical contact with John in order to be affective."

"So if we just yank it off, he'll turn back?" Arachne asked.

"I think so," Spider-Man nodded, "But yanking it off would be a bad idea. If the party that I think was behind this is behind it, then it's probably booby-trapped."

"Who do you think did this?" Robbie asked.

"A mystic/cult/criminal organization known as the Brotherhood of Scriers," Spider-Man answered, "That's all I can say."

"Just promise me you'll get someone or something that will help my son," Jonah urged.

"We'll need a mystic to confirm it," Spider-Man commented, "That's mystical I mean."

"And if it isn't a mystical object?" Iron Man asked.

"Then I have no clue," Spider-Man answered, "The original moonstone wasn't lodged in his chest."

Jonah looked ready to kill Spider-Man, but only the presence of Arachne, Jess, and Robbie between the two prevented him from doing anything.

"I'd better give Doctor Strange a call," Iron Man commented and turned around.

About ten minutes later, Doctor Stephan Strange arrived to see the collection of heroes and journalists gathered around the unconscious body of Man-Wolf. He looked over Man-Wolf for a few moments and then turned to the group.

"You were right to call me," Doctor Strange said in a serious voice, "This stone has obviously been influenced by black magics, and that has caused this man's transformation."

"Is it reversible?" Jonah asked.

"Yes," Doctor Strange answered, "The Eye of Agammoto sees that the while the 'curse' is permanent, the curse is only upon the stone itself. Once the stone is removed from his chest he will return to normal."

"I don't suppose you could remove it for us, Doc?" Spider-Man asked, "Since none of us are practicing mystics."

"And a good thing too," Doctor Strange answered, and stepped closer to the medical table and placed his hands over the ruby itself, "By the powers of the Eye Agammoto, I command this dark stone remove itself from this host!"

Spider-Man and most of the others then watched quietly, while Arachne looked somewhat amazed by this, as this was her first real meeting with Doctor Strange. The ruby then became somewhat transparent and slowly floated upward into the air. Once it was a foot away from Man-Wolf, Man-Wolf slowly and painlessly returned to John Jameson.

"Wow," Arachne spoke, amazement evident in her voice.

"For five bucks he'll turn it into a rabbit," Spider-Man quipped, "What do we do with the ruby now?"

Doctor Strange let it float down to a point where it would hover over an empty spot on the floor where it could easily be dropped into a garbage disposal unit.

"I believe Iron Man's repulsor rays will do well," Doctor Strange replied.

Iron Man then blasted the ruby to pieces.

"Thanks for your help," Iron Man said to Doctor Strange.

"It is of no problem," Doctor Strange answered and then turned to Spider-Man and Arachne, "Although, if the foe you are facing is to be employing such black magics, I would urge the two of you to be extremely careful."

"Hey, careful is my middle name," Spider-Man answered.

"And that is why you are currently suffering from a cold?" Doctor Strange asked, "I would advise that you rest for the rest of the day and eat lots of soup. And that is merely medical advice."

John then awake as Doctor Strange left.

"Where am I?" John asked as he slowly came back into consciousness.

"The Avengers Tower," Iron Man answered, "That ruby that had been given to you was influenced by dark magics and transformed you into Man-Wolf. Thankfully, Arachne here was able to prevent you from doing any real damage."

John turned to look at the red headed heroine.

"I must thank you then," John said, "I didn't want to cause any trouble."

"I was in the neighborhood," Arachne answered, "No worries."

"Come on," Jonah insisted as he stepped forward, "Let's get you home."

Jonah then helped John up and began to walk with Robbie toward a nearby door.

"I'll escort you out to an elevator that will take you to the ground floor lobby," Iron Man volunteered.

"Thanks," Robbie answered.

"Well that could have gone better," Spider-Man commented.

"Better?" Arachne asked.

"We could have avoided the argument at the beginning," Spider-Man replied.

Arachne then nodded to see that Jess and was still standing next to Luke.

"I don't suppose I could ask you a few questions, Arachne?" Jess asked.

"You can," Arachne shrugged, "Nothing too personal, but it would be better to go to a more comfortable area."

**Lounge, Five Minutes Later**

"So you've taken to being Spider-Man's partner," Jess commented, "am I right?"

Arachne nodded, "Yes, although we're not exactly joined at the hip. There will be plenty of times when you'll find one of us working alone."

"But for the most part, you'll be by Spider-Man's side?" Jess questioned.

Arachne nodded again.

"So how did you come by your powers?" Jess asked, "And why 'Arachne'?"

"I got my powers in much the same way Spider-Man did, an accident," Arachne answered, "I was in the wrong place at the wrong time and ended up getting injected with a formula that turned Spiderwoman into who she is today. I took the name 'Arachne' because there have been at least three 'Spiderwomen' around it didn't seem right for me to jump on that bandwagon, especially with the original Spiderwoman currently active."

"I suppose she wouldn't want you to call yourself 'Spiderwoman' either," Jess gave a slight chuckle.

"She would prefer it if I didn't get my powers, period," Arachne answered, "But there are some things that you can't change."

"There have been various rumors that you and Spider-Man are involved in a rather romantic relationship, and while I know this may be personal, but may I ask if it is true?" Jess questioned.

Arachne slowly nodded, "It is true, Spider-Man and I are involved a serious relationship, I'm not about to hide it."

"That is why I asked that question, because, you see, because of my marriage to Luke, I know who Spider-Man is," Jess commented, "And I know he is happily married. Don't you feel guilty about prying a married man away from his wife?"

"Luke told you who Spider-Man is?" Arachne asked.

"More like I was present with all the Avengers at one point and I saw him without his mask," Jess replied.

"And you won't reveal his identity?" Arachne asked again.

"No," Jess answered, "After spending some time as 'Jewel', myself, I understand why he keeps his identity secret. I would never do reveal his identity without prior approval from him. Now what does this have to do with my question?"

"To answer your question, no, I do not feel guilty," Arachne answered slowly, and then dropped her accent and removed her mask, "Because I am the woman he married."

Jess gasped in surprise at this, as despite the obviously similar figure, hair style and color, Mary Jane Watson/Parker was the last person she ever thought would be involved in the hero business.

"It happened when the Hobgoblin and Tracer attacked the tower," Mary Jane explained, "I got knocked into a containment tube that contained the formula and blacked out. When I woke up, I had spider-powers."

"And you just joined him?" Jess asked.

"No," Mary Jane answered, "I actually tried to avoid becoming Arachne as much as possible for a little while, but eventually one of Peter's villains that had recently given him serious trouble returned and threatened to kill him… and I couldn't take the nervous worrying anymore."

"Huh?" Jess asked.

"Being Spider-Man's wife has never been an easy thing," Mary Jane sighed, "Unlike Luke, Peter is quite vulnerable to any sort of weapon and I've spent many a night sitting alone and worrying if Peter will even come home, let along if he'll get hurt or not. And this is magnified by the fact that unlike most of the other Avengers, Peter has more personal enemies then he has enemies that he will have to deal with as part of the Avengers. The Green Goblin, the Hobgoblin, Venom, Carnage, the Scorpion, the Kingpin, all of them are extremely dangerous and any one of them could easily kill him. When this new villain attacked again, I couldn't take it anymore. I can't sit on the sidelines anymore and let Peter risk his life and let me worry alone. I won't sit idly by."

Jess sighed in response, she knew that she didn't have to worry all that much, if at all about Luke. With near impenetrable skin, Luke never had to worry about being killed, and most of his villains were usually small time crooks and muggers, and Mary Jane had just listed half a dozen either superhuman or at least enhanced human criminals.

"In addition, it is probably safer for me to be Arachne," Mary Jane added, "Since several of Peter's most dangerous foes know WHO he is as well and have used those he loves as a way to get to him. Some nut can't just drop me off of a bridge."

"I see," Jess finally nodded, "Well, I think I got everything I need for my article. And thank you for saving the Bugle today. Hopefully Peter gets better soon."

"Oh, he probably will," Mary Jane answered, "As soon as I teach him the importance of recuperating when you're sick."

Jess only chuckled.

**The Next Morning**

Fisk sat quietly as he read the morning's Bugle, its main article dealt with the strange occurrences that occurred at the Bugle the day before, but from the headline on the front page indicated to Fisk that his plan had worked. The headline read, 'Arachne saves paper and defeats Masked Menace's hired Monster'.

"Spider-Man didn't intervene to stop Man-Wolf," one of his lieutenants commented from the other side of his desk.

"Yes, but the plan and the Scrier's little stone appears to have accomplished the goal anyway," Fisk answered, "Which is a victory for us. No more positive press for Spider-Man, which puts him back where he was when I had control of New York crime last. And means that the common New Yorker will not help him protect Norman Osborn."

"They might back Arachne though, and she appears to be on Spider-Man's side," the lieutenant answered.

"She is of little importance," Fisk dismissed the issue, "She is still new and therefore carries no influence. Spider-Man is our main enemy."

**To Be Continued… **


	6. Heavy Hitters and Criminal Enforcement

All characters appearing in Spider-Man are copyrighted to Marvel Entertainment and Stan Lee. No infringement of these copyrights is intended, and is not authorized by the copyright holder. All original characters are the property of TVfan.

Note: this story is a sequel to my "A New Life" story, and begins a few days after it.

All the King's Men

By TVfan

**Chapter 6: Heavy Hitters and Criminal Enforcement**

**Hotel, Bronx**

"Let me get this straight, you want me to off the Kingpin?" a heavy built man in a protective grey colored suit asked.

"Yes," Norman Osborn smiled from the other bed in the room, "Why? Are you afraid, Rhino?"

"I ain't afraid of no one," Rhino answered.

"Good, then you'll take care of that pompous twit for me," Osborn replied.

"Hold it," Rhino shook his head, "I never said I was gonna whack nobody. Especially the Kingpin. Not unless you got something that will make it worth my while."

"You'll be striking his headquarters, he's bound to have money there," Osborn commented.

"And suppose he escapes before I get to him?" Rhino asked, "I don't wanna spend the rest of my life fighting off hit men."

Osborn sat with a serious frown, but did not say anything.

"There is also the fact that this hit of yours is liable to end me in a fight with a certain wall crawler," Rhino continued.

"For a man who claims he fears nothing, you've made some awfully cowardly remarks," Osborn said plainly.

Rhino growled low in his throat and lunged forward and grabbed Osborn by the neck and slammed him against the wall.

"I told you, I ain't afraid of no one," the Rhino growled, "So if you want to kill Fisk so bad, kill him yourself."

Osborn brought his hands up to the Rhino's larger hand and then swung his legs forward so that he delivered a kick to the Rhino's chest. The blow was far more powerful the Rhino ever expected from a man like Osborn, and it knocked him to the ground. As he fell, he released his grip on Osborn who did one flip and landed on his feet.

"Don't try to get rough with me, Rhino," Osborn warned, "I might have to get rough back."

Rhino got up as if ready to charge again, and Osborn reached inside a duffel bag he had brought with him and pulled a pumpkin bomb out of it. That stopped the Rhino in his tracks.

"I forgot you liked working with the Hobgoblin," Rhino growled, "But didn't he just get arrested?"

"I work with the GREEN Goblin," Osborn growled, "As he and I share a mutual enemy. Now, don't get rough with me."

"Sure," Rhino commented, not really wanting to do damage to a hotel room he was hiding out in.

"Now," Osborn said in a calmer voice, "Will you deal with Fisk or won't you?"

"I'll say again, what's in it for me?" Rhino responded.

Osborn sighed, "One, I'll pay you a reasonable amount. Two, you will have earned a worthy position in my coming organization."

"Organization?" Rhino asked.

Osborn sighed, and began to realize how Spider-Man had beaten the Rhino many times and so easily. He just waited for the Rhino's natural stupidity to kick in and let the Rhino beat himself.

"When I engineered the Kingpin's downfall, I assumed the Owl could effectively maintain the remains of his empire," Osborn explained, "Unfortunately, Owl turned out to be a fool and hired Crusher Creel and then insulted him. That put the Owl behind bars and left the whole city open for a new Kingpin whom I could not control to take over. Unfortunately, it was the same Kingpin as the one I had helped send to jail."

"You're jealous of Fisk?" Rhino asked, restraining himself from laughing.

"Fisk has power," Osborn growled, "I want it and need it."

"For what?" Rhino asked.

"To kill a certain wall crawler," Osborn answered, "I need you to kill Fisk so I can take over his organization."

"And what place would I have in your organization?" Rhino asked.

"You would have the honor of being one of my enforcers, ensuring that my law is obeyed by the criminal element of New York."

"And how much would I get PAID for all of this?" Rhino asked.

"Plenty," Osborn sighed, "But you will need to cooperate with my plan to kill Fisk first."

**Midtown High**

Meanwhile, Peter Parker sighed as he set down the morning copy of the Bugle as he sipped from a coffee on his desk. The Bugle was back to its old ways of making Spider-Man appear to be a villain, it made him wish he had stayed in bed and worked on getting better. At least then, he wouldn't have to be called a menace for helping a little old lady cross the street. But then, he was the only one who had had any experience dealing with Man-Wolf before, so he needed to be there.

He took another sip of his coffee when he was interrupted by the sound of cheerful whistling coming into the classroom. He looked up to see Flash walk in, looking as though he'd been to heaven.

"You got a free hour?" Flash asked as he came in and leaned on Peter's desk.

"I'm free for a little while," Peter answered, "Is there something wrong, Flash?"

No, nothing's wrong," Flash replied, "I just wanted to tell you that it worked."

"What worked?" Peter sighed.

"Being myself," Flash answered, "The nurse agreed to go out with me."

"Well that's great," Peter told him with a weak smile, "I told you, being yourself works the best. So, how did you ask her?"

"I had the kids playing kickball in the gym, and one apparently has a back swing when he's going to kick the ball," Flash answered, "and I swear she was laughing when I asked."

"But she said yes?" Peter questioned.

Flash nodded, "I think it was pity."

"I don't have anything to help you out with that, Flash," Peter informed him.

"Shoot," Flashed sighed and then looked at the newspaper Peter had been reading from, "What's up with that?"

"What's up with what?" Peter asked back.

"That article," Flash answered, pointing, "He's calling Spider-Man a 'menace'."

"You still like Spider-Man after he said you have amnesia?" Peter asked.

"Hey, Spider-Man can't know me all that well," Flash answered, "I mean, he's probably saved what, a hundred guys a day? He could have only been mistaken."

Peter silently sighed. It was a gross over exaggeration, but he couldn't argue, as he never kept count of how many people he rescued every day as Spider-Man, and with MJ helping him as Arachne now, those numbers were sure to go down. But, at least Flash was still behind Spider-Man.

"I don't think he saves quite that many people per day, but I'm sure he doesn't know everyone that he rescues personally," Peter answered.

"Yeah, so why is Jameson printing these lies about Spider-Man?" Flash asked.

"He always does that," Peter shrugged, "Jameson for some reason doesn't like people who wear masks."

"But then why was he calling Spider-Man a hero for a while?" Flash asked, "The whole thing doesn't make sense."

"Jonah's like that," Peter shrugged, "The only reason he called Spider-Man a hero was because Spider-Man asked me to take a few pictures of Jonah's son in his costume. A few days ago, he found out that those pictures were only pictures and he's back to accusing Spider-Man of every sin in the calendar."

"How can you work for him?" Flash asked, "He sounds like a real…"

Flash stopped as a few students came in.

"… A real pain in the neck," Flash finished.

"We all have to put up with pains in the neck," Peter answered, "And now, my next class is starting. I'll see you at lunch."

**Elsewhere**

It had been a relatively quiet couple of days as Mary Jane slowly made her way into an off-Broadway theater that had recently finished one production run, and was already preparing for the next play. She was largely there to figure out what the next play would be and when it would be holding auditions. She made her way up to the promoter who was seated behind a folding table with a stack of pamphlets and papers in front of him.

"Hi," Mary Jane spoke slowly, "Is that the script for the next play this theater will be showing?"

"You're looking to audition?" the man asked looking up.

"Maybe," Mary Jane replied, "I'd like to read the script first."

"Doesn't everybody?" the man replied, "Say, weren't you in that production that that creature crashed?"

Mary Jane sighed, remembering the night where her 'other' life as Arachne began. She wondered if Peter ever had any of these moments where he questioned about whether or not he would have a normal life.

"Yeah," Mary Jane nodded, "Thankfully that creature was chased off."

"Where do you suppose it is now?" the guy asked as he handed Mary Jane a copy of the script, "Almost every theater director has been nervous as most times theaters haven't been the site of superhero battles."

"Hopefully very far away," Mary Jane answered.

"Auditions start in one week," the man informed her with a nod, "At ten in the morning."

"Thanks," Mary Jane answered and then made her way out, looking through the script as she went.

**Kingpin's Headquarters**

"You're sending us after Spider-Man again?" Montana asked as he and the rest of the Enforcers entered the office that Fisk was seated in, "Right?"

"I merely sent for you, what makes you think you're being sent after Spider-Man?" Fisk asked from his chair.

"Cause we owe that guy a pounding," Ox answered, slamming his fists together.

"His girlfriend too," Fancy Dan added.

Fisk chuckled a bit before answering, "While you were a bit presumptuous, yes you are to go after Spider-Man and his partner Arachne."

"Yes!" Ox cheered swinging his fists in the air, "Now we'll get 'em!"

"I would be cautious in dealing with them," Fisk warned, "Remember that both are super powered and will not be easy to deal with. Don't challenge them in an enclosed space."

"Don't worry, they won't get the better of us like they did in that hotel," Fancy Dan spoke, "We'll jump 'em while they're swinging between buildings. They can't bounce of ceilings while we're on a rooftop, and I can shot through their weblines, giving them a long hard fall down."

"Just make sure he doesn't knock you off of a rooftop," Fisk ordered as they left.

Fisk was tempted to relax a bit, but he soon felt the Scrier's ever familiar presence in the room and in the shadows.

"You know you would be trusted more if you were to come out in the open a bit more," Fisk commented after a few moments, hoping to get something out of the Scrier.

"You wouldn't have to worry about trusting me if you had brought Osborn to me," the Scrier answered as he stepped out of the shadows, "Instead of deciding to get involved in this petty conflict with Spider-Man and his partner."

"Spider-Man represents a threat to my organization," Fisk answered, "He must be, at least, kept busy. Besides, the rest of my forces have not found Osborn yet. I can not bring you someone I haven't found."

"Then perhaps you ought to devote more to accomplishing the goals as set in our deal, rather then worrying about your organization," Scrier answered, "The Brotherhood of Scriers can easily send you back to jail."

"But can you stop Osborn on your own without drawing attention to yourselves?" Fisk asked back, "Because you've repeatedly commented that you don't want the majority of the city to know that you're here."

"The death of Norman Osborn is paramount," the Scrier answered, "And it will happen. Our deal with you was made out of convenience, but do not assume that we will not hold you to your end of the bargain."

"And as I've told you, I'm doing my best to live up to that bargain," Fisk answered, "The Kingpin always pays his debts. You will have to be patient, however, as the Black Cat is yet to report in and Bookkeeper has not yet lead Nobody to Osborn yet. Until that happens, you will have to remain patient."

"My patience grows thin, Kingpin, as that has been your sole argument since we made our bargain," the Scrier pointed out, "I must wait while you martial your forces to strike. I must wait while you take over New York's criminal underworld. Now I must wait for you to defeat Spider-Man. How much longer will I have to wait? And I'm also going to tell you that I am the only the reason the Council of Scriers has not had you killed yet for your failure."

"Then I am quite thankful for your kindness," Fisk answered, "But I'm sure that if your Council looked into its history, they would find that it probably took the Brotherhood of Scriers a long time to clime to their present position."

"That is the past, Kingpin," the Scrier said firmly, "Things have changed. Your plans had better work out."

**Bar, New Jersey**

A man screamed as he slid down the wooden bar and then crashed face first into a bar stool that had seemingly managed to avoid much of the bar fight that was raging. The bar tender, himself, crouched behind the bar wanting to avoid being hit by any of the blows and occasional gun shots that were fired.

It was not as though he hadn't seen the occasional bar fight breakout, but he had never seen one like this. One was the fact that no one was drunk, at least as far as the bar tender could tell, he guessed it was because it was because it was only early afternoon. The other thing was the fact that the person who started the fight was dressed in black leather with white 'tufts' of fur to accent it.

Black Cat dodged another slash thrown at her by a knife wielding gangster and finished him off with a sweeping kick that caught the back of his neck and knocked him to the ground. She then smiled as she saw that her intended target was still around, although huddled in the back corner of the bar.

"Hello, Joey, long time, no see," Black Cat commented as she sat in the chair opposite him.

The man, Joey, was a leader of a small old 'mafia' gang that the Kingpin had long ago destroyed. Black Cat had had a hard time pinning down any location where Osborn might be, but knew that many of the smaller gangs that the Kingpin had once controlled did better while the Owl was in charge. Black Cat also knew, through Spider-Man, that Osborn was somehow involved in getting the Owl in charge of New York crime. It was within her reasoning that these small time gangsters had probably seen Osborn somewhere.

"Don't hurt me!" Joey whimpered, "I ain't done nothin'!"

"Oh, I'm sure you've done something," Black Cat answered, "But that isn't why I'm here."

"So why are you here?" Joey asked, still looking fairly fearful, as the Black Cat had knocked out practically his entire organization, and the only ones she hadn't knocked out weren't there.

"I'm looking for someone, and I figured you might have seen him, or know someone who has," Black Cat explained.

"I haven't seen nothin'," Joey answered.

Black Cat extended a series of metal retractable claws that were in the fingertips of her gloves. They gave her some help in battling small time crooks when her 'bad luck' powers weren't working at the moment.

"You sure?" Black Cat asked, "I haven't even told you who I'm looking for yet."

Joey's face visibly paled at the sight of the claws and he began to fidget nervously.

"All right! I'll answer any question you ask!" Joey spoke quickly, "Just don't kill me."

Black Cat smirked, a good bluff still worked.

"I want to know what you know about Norman Osborn," Black Cat said slowly.

"I heard rumors that he's the Green Goblin," Joey answered.

"He IS the Green Goblin," Black Cat answered, "What do you know about him?"

"No one in my gang has seen him," Joey answered, "And we don't want to either. Even when he was running Osborn Industries, the guy had some whacked out spooky vibe."

"You're not the only one to have that sort of feeling about him," Black Cat responded, knowing Spider-Man's feelings about the ex-industrialist and now convicted super villain on the run, "Has anyone tried to get you to fight against the Kingpin lately?"

"The Kingpin?" Joey asked, "I thought the Owl was in Jail."

"Not the Owl," Black Cat answered, "Wilson Fisk. THE Kingpin."

"He's behind the gang fighting in New York?!" Joey gasped, "It's a good thing I stayed out here then. No, no one in my organization has seen anything of that nature."

"I see," Black Cat answered.

"Although, I did hear a rumor or two if you would want to follow up on that," Joey continued.

"Anything that helps," Black Cat commented.

"Well, now this is through a bunch of other guys, so I'm not one hundred percent sure, but apparently the Owl's bookkeeper has been trying to recruit various gangs to try and overthrow the Kingpin," Joey spoke, "I thought it was nothing, as I thought the Owl was Kingpin now, but if Fisk is back, then maybe the Owl's bookkeeper is trying to start a resistance movement. You know what I mean?"

"What does that have to do with Osborn?" Black Cat asked, "I'm not looking for the Owl's bookkeeper, and so far, the Owl hasn't been able to escape his prison cell."

"I don't know," Joey answered, "Maybe they're working together."

"That wouldn't make sense," Black Cat mused, "Osborn generally wouldn't work with gangsters, unless they would directly serve him. The Owl's bookkeeper works for the Owl, and he isn't likely to simply take orders from Osborn."

"I told you all I have is rumors," Joey answered.

"Do you at least know who runs this gang that the Owl's bookkeeper contacted?" Black Cat asked.

"Yeah, they operate just across the river, why?" Joey asked.

"That's all I needed to know," Black Cat answered as she got up and left.

**Outside the Kingpin's Headquarters**

"So that's where he's holed up?" Rhino asked as he looked out across a moderately busy street from an alley, trying to be careful not to be seen.

"That's what Bookkeeper has told me," Osborn said from behind him, "Now you're sure you can handle him?"

"Would I have accepted the job if I couldn't?" Rhino grumbled back.

"I'm just trying to make sure that I'm not wasting what little money that I have," Osborn answered, "Now are you sure you can do this?"

"Yeah, I'm sure," Rhino answered, "Now, where is his office in there?"

"From the reports Bookkeeper has given me it is in the middle of the first floor," Osborn answered, "He should be a very easy target."

"Okay," Rhino replied and immediately charged through the street, flipping one car that came close to hitting him.

Osborn watched this and sighed, "Not the quietest entrance I've seen, but it will do."

Osborn then disappeared down the alley, knowing that the Rhino would make it back to his hideaway if he was successful, and if not, he had at least sent a message to the Kingpin that he wasn't going to just roll over and let Fisk walk all over him.

Inside his office, Fisk practically jumped when he heard a large crashing noise come from the areas outside his office. He quickly reached for a phone and pressed an intercom button.

"What is going on?" Fisk demanded into the phone.

He got a rather nervous answer from whoever had answered.

"It's the Rhino, sir," the man who answered spoke, "He just charged right through the front door and is headed your way."

"Great, and with most of my men out either hunting Osborn or watching for Spider-Man, I'll have to deal with that fool, myself," Fisk commented to himself, "Do your best to slow him down, but don't get yourselves hurt."

"Yes, sir," came the answer.

The sounds of crashing continued, now as gunfire also sounded as his men attempted to try and stop the Rhino. Fisk merely got out of his chair grabbed his new electrically charged cane and waited for Rhino to arrive, and he did arrive a few moments later with one man hanging on his back trying to club him with his pistol.

"Ah, now Rhino, to what do I owe the honor of this intrusion?" Fisk growled in a thinly disguised angry voice.

The Rhino swung one fist back and knocked the man hanging on his neck back through the hole in the wall that he had made.

"I got a bone to settle with you," Rhino answered.

Rhino then charged, but Fisk sidestepped and tripped him with his cane. The Rhino went head first into the wall, and got his horn caught in the plaster.

"Over what, may I ask?" Fisk asked, as he jabbed the electric end of his cane into Rhino's side, making the massive super villain grunt a little.

"Money," Rhino answered.

"I'm afraid I don't owe you any money, and if I did, I would have paid you by now," Fisk answered, jabbing Rhino with his cane again.

"No, I'll be paid if I off you," Rhino growled as he finally pulled his horn out of the wall

"Now we're getting somewhere," Fisk smiled evilly and ducked down and flipped Rhino over as he charged again, grunting heavily as Rhino was nearly too heavy for even Fisk's 300+ pounds of muscle could lift, "Who paid you?"

Rhino swung one fist backward which hit Fisk in his side, and made him take a step or two back.

"I haven't been paid yet," Rhino answered, "That will only happen, after I off you."

Rhino was about to charge again, when he suddenly felt several bullets hit him in the back, but because of his armored suit, those bullets only felt like someone was poking him. He turned to see no one there. By the time he turned around again, he caught Fisk's cane right in the face and screamed as the cane delivered another electrical shock. He fell to the ground to see a man dressed in black commando gear appear out of nowhere beside Fisk.

**Avengers** **Tower**

Peter had barely walked in when he found Mary Jane waiting for him, changing into her costume.

"This is rather proactive for a training day," Peter commented with a weak chuckle.

"I don't think this will be a training day," Mary Jane answered as she pulled up the boots part of her costume so that they met the bottom part of the pants part of her costume, "Just saw an emergency broadcast on the television that the Rhino's gone nuts in some office building."

"The Rhino?" Peter asked.

"Isn't he the guy who dresses up in a grey costume and runs into stuff?" Mary Jane asked, as Peter started to change into his costume.

"That'd be him," Spider-Man sighed as he pulled on his mask, "But why did you change here?"

"This is about the time that you return home," Arachne answered, "And only the Avengers, Aunt May, other heroes, and myself are allowed to use that elevator without notifying us up here first."

"Well, thanks for letting me know," Spider-Man replied as they walked towards a hallway that would lead them toward a window.

The two were soon out and web slinging over New York and quickly headed north as Arachne relayed the news that she had heard on the news before getting changed and waiting for Peter to return.

"Man, I'm really sorry that all our training opportunities always end up with us having to go into a real fight," Spider-Man commented, "I'm sure it doesn't help you get more comfortable with all of this."

"Well," Arachne responded, "You keep saying I'm getting better, so maybe it's the best form of training."

"Now that's the spirit," Spider-Man answered with a smile, although no one would really tell, thanks to his mask.

The two continued web slinging until they went past an apartment building and a series of gunshots rang out surprising them. It dent sent off either Spider-Man or Arachne's spider-sense, but the shots did surprise them as they went through their weblines and forced them to fly through the air and then forced them to cling to a building and cling to a building that was directly in front of them.

"What the heck was that?" Arachne asked ash she began to follow Spider-Man up the side of the building.

"A very good shot," Spider-Man answered as he leaped up and flipped through the air to land on the roof of the apartment building that the gun shots had come from to find the Enforcers waiting for him, "Well look, if it isn't dummies one, two, and three."

Montana tried to whip Spider-Man, but Spider-Man easily dodged, and Arachne landed on the whip before he could pull it back.

"We don't have time for this," Arachne commented.

"You won't be alive much longer either!" Fancy Dan sneered and fired three shots at the two heroes.

Arachne leaped into the air, avoiding the first shot, which then cut Montana's whip in half, while Spider-Man did one back flip and then cart wheeled and avoided the remaining two shots. As he landed, however, Ox landed a powerful punch on him that sent Spider-Man over the edge of the building. Unfortunately for Ox, shortly after, Spider-Man connected a webline to him and wrapped it around his back and shoulders, pulling Ox toward the edge of the building.

"Let go!" Ox growled.

"Nope," Spider-Man shook his head as he now began to back down the side of the building, "This is what you get for trying to fight a guy who swings BETWEEN skyscrapers on top of a tall building."

Spider-Man then tugged on his webline and pulled Ox over the side of the building. The largest of the Enforcers screamed like a girl, but Spider-Man caught him and then left him dangling from a lamppost.

"Okay the ride has stopped, you can stop screaming now," Spider-Man joked.

"Put me down!" Ox demanded.

"I'll let the cops do that," Spider-Man answered, "Or if you're lucky, you'll just have to wait an hour for the webbing to dissolve."

Ox looked down and gulped. The ground was still a good eight to ten feet below him.

"I'll see you around," Spider-Man commented as he leaped away and began to climb up the side of the building again.

On the roof, Arachne threw a swinging punch that knocked Montana into Fancy Dan. The cowboy themed gangster had tried to come straight at her as his whip was no next to useless after Fancy Dan had shot it in half. Unfortunately for him, Arachne's spider-sense and superhuman strength were more then enough for him.

"Get off of me!" Fancy Dan growled at Montana, "Get off of me!"

"Shut up," Montana growled back, "You know this is all your fault. If you hadn't shot my whip, we wouldn't be in this mess!"

"I wasn't aiming for your whip," Fancy Dan answered back, "I was aiming for that b…"

Fancy Dan didn't get a chance to finish as a ball of webbing him in the mouth and acted as a gag, preventing him from talking.

"Watch your language," Arachne spoke in a scolding voice, "There are ladies present."

Montana only growled and charged toward Arachne, fully intent on strangling the woman with his bare hands. Again, however, Arachne's powers gave her plenty of time to grab Montana by one hand and throw him against the brick siding of a raised section of the roof that they were on. She then felt her spider-sense buzz again as Fancy Dan simply began shooting at her, almost indiscriminately. She leaped up and saw that his mouth was still gagged by her webbing.

"Not so talkative now, are ya?" Arachne asked in a teasing voice.

Fancy Dan raised his pistols to shoot at Arachne again.

"Before you shoot, I have one thing to tell you," Arachne spoke, and nearly chuckled when he paused, "Look out behind you."

Fancy Dan didn't even feel Spider-Man club him with his fists from behind. He was out that quickly. Spider-Man then webbed Fancy Dan and Montana together and then left them dangling next to Ox.

"What do you suppose that was all about?" Arachne asked.

"Fisk is probably getting paranoid that I'm going to 'protect' Osborn," Spider-Man answered, "And has added me to the list of people 'to kill'."

"Do any of those guys have super powers at all?" Arachne asked.

"Other then stupidity?" Spider-Man asked back, "No. But when they're all together and against one lone target, they're fairly tough to bring down."

**West Side of Manhattan**

"Are you sure you haven't seen anyone?" Black Cat asked as she held one small time gangster upside down over the edge of a second floor hand rail, so that the man was hanging over the lobby, one floor down.

"Alright, alright, I'll talk," the gangster answered, "Don't kill me!"

Black Cat then threw him down on the walkway that she was standing on. The man scooted back a few feet, relatively fearful of a woman who had pretty much beaten him up.

"Now, I want to know if you know anything about Norman Osborn," Black Cat asked.

"My gang used to do some of his small time errands while he ran Osborn Industries," the man answered, "Why?"

"There is a very powerful man who wants Osborn delivered to him," Black Cat replied, "Do you know where he is?"

"Fisk?" the man answered, "He's the one who wants him?"

Black Cat nodded.

"Tell him that Harry Vix will be more then happy to help him," the man spoke.

"I don't work for Fisk," Black Cat answered, "I'm only doing this because he would kill me if I didn't. Now, do you know where Osborn is?"

"No," Harry Vix answered, "No I don't."

Black Cat gave a frustrated sigh. She'd so far defeated two minor gangs in her attempt to try and locate Osborn, which she had to admit was becoming more and more desperate, and she was no closer then when she started.

"This is just great," Black Cat sighed, "Just great. Fisk is going to kill me."

Black Cat then decided to see if Harry Vix knew anything along the lines of what Joey had told her earlier.

"You said that you used to run errands for Osborn, correct?" Black Cat questioned.

"Yeah, he was involved in the criminal underworld," Harry Vix answered, "Never strong enough to challenge Fisk or Silvermaine, but he was involved to some degree."

"What was his opinion of them?" Black Cat asked.

"Of who?" Harry Vix asked back.

"Fisk or Silvermaine," Black Cat said firmly, "The main crime bosses."

"I don't think he liked them very much," Harry Vix answered, "But as I said before, he wasn't powerful enough to directly challenge either. Although that might have changed now, as Silvermaine's dead and the Owl is in jail."

"Speaking of him, have you heard from Owl's bookkeeper at all recently?" Black Cat asked.

"He was here a few weeks ago, talking about setting up a resistance movement against Fisk," Harry Vix replied, "We laughed him off, as we are in no position challenge Fisk now then Osborn was years ago."

"I was talking with a friend of yours," Black Cat continued, "He said he thinks that the Bookkeeper might be working for Osborn in some way."

"Why would he want to work for Osborn?" Harry Vix asked, "And why would Osborn challenge Fisk now? Does he even know that Fisk has escaped from his prison cell?"

"Osborn has lost his power, and the world knows his connection to the Green Goblin," Black Cat answered, "he can't run Osborn Industries anymore, so organized crime is his only possible source for power."

"That sounds possible," Harry Vix answered, "But I don't know. I don't make it my business to follow around other gangsters and certainly not super villains."

Black Cat sighed and then turned around, leaving the gangster where he was.

"Thanks for your help," Black Cat said and then leaped over the side of the railing and left the building and then muttered to herself, "Well, this has been a spectacular waste of time. These guys don't know anything and all I got is bizarre theory that Osborn has the Owl's bookkeeper running errands for him."

She leaped over the alley space between two buildings and then came to pause by the edge of another building and looking out over the road

"Maybe I ought to talk to Spider about all this," Black Cat thought to herself, "Get Fisk off of my back."

Before she could fire off a grappling line to get to the other building, she saw a familiar person running along the opposite sidewalk in a rather nervous fashion. She looked down to see that it was the Owl's bookkeeper. She recognized him from some of the legal jobs the Owl had hired her to do, largely tracking money and such. He looked rather fearful, Black Cat quickly decided to follow him.

"Maybe I'll finally get somewhere," Black Cat commented as she fired out her grappling hook to follow Bookkeeper.

**Fisk's Headquarters**

Rhino growled as Nobody disappeared again and he ran headlong into the wall, demolishing it. He growled again as he heard Nobody appear behind him again and fire on him. Thankfully for him, his armored suit kept him safe, but he was beginning to get a headache from crashing into walls, furniture, and the ground.

"Hold still you little freak," Rhino growled.

Rhino prepared to charge again, when something tripped him as he moved forward. He then screamed again with pain as he felt Fisk's cane be jabbed into his back.

"You are a fine person to be calling anyone a 'freak'," Fisk spoke in a calm, but still firm voice, "Now, who hired you?"

Rhino looked back to see that Fisk was still there. He had been so engrossed in chasing after Nobody that he had completely forgotten about his target.

"Come now, this needn't be as hard as you're making it," Fisk spoke, "Tell me who hired you, and this pointless battle will end."

"It'll end when I off you," Rhino growled as he tried to get up, but felt Fisk's cane hit him in the back again.

"That is not going to happen," Fisk said firmly, "Now, you will tell me who hired you, or I will allow Nobody to kill you."

"His bullets can't penetrate my hide," Rhino answered him.

"Does your hide cover your face?" Fisk asked.

Nobody then appeared right in front of him and pointed his Uzi at Rhino's nose. Rhino starred at the gun's barrel for a few moments and sighed. He was about to answer, when he heard a sudden 'thwip' come from above him. He looked up to see Spider-Man and some woman in a red and blue spider costume, pull Nobody into the far wall, knocking him out. The woman crushed Nobody's guns.

"Well isn't this a merry get together," Spider-Man commented, "We heard a Rhino had escaped from the zoo, but I didn't know his trainer would be coming with him."

"I didn't hire this Neanderthal!" Fisk answered, "I am the victim here!"

"Victim?" Arachne asked, "You call destroying a building being a victim?"

"Who are you?" Rhino demanded as he rolled away from Fisk and got up, but didn't know who to charge.

"Arachne, don't you read the paper?" Arachne responded.

"Ordering a subscription is kinda difficult when you're a wanted man, toots," Rhino replied.

"Don't call me 'toots'," Arachne growled back.

"I'll call you whatever I want," Rhino answered, "But right no, I have a job to do."

Spider-Man and Arachne both blinked as Rhino ignored both of them to charge at Fisk. Fisk dove and rolled out of the way, and the Rhino crashed through the wall again.

"As I was saying earlier, I am the victim in this situation," Fisk answered, "I would very much appreciate it if you do your job."

Arachne pivoted and delivered a powerful haymaker to Fisk's jaw, knocking the massive crime lord over his desk and onto the ground behind it. He lay there unmoving, but it could still be seen that he was breathing. Rhino then reappeared, and charged directly for the spot where Fisk landed.

"Thanks," Rhino grumbled as he ran by.

Spider-Man did not let him get far, however, as he launched a pair of weblines that wrapped around Rhino's ankles. The gray armored villain fell flat on his face as his feet were pulled out from under him.

"I'm sorry there Rhino, but no one is killing anyone today," Spider-Man said calmly, "But I hear that the police are giving free tours of their jails."

"Oh, so that's how it's going to be," Rhino growled as he got to his feet.

Arachne gulped as Rhino then charged at her and Spider-Man, and then dove away to avoid being hit.

**Warehouse, West Side of Manhattan**

"Well, it's good to see you survived," Osborn commented with a slight smile as Bookkeeper slowly made it into the warehouse that Osborn had been using as a hideout.

"You could have told me you were attacking him today!" Bookkeeper screamed sounding very frustrated, "I come out of a break room, trying to maintain my cover, and I nearly got run over by that brute!"

"He didn't stop and tell you who he was working for, did he?" Osborn asked.

"No," Bookkeeper replied, "I figured you would be the only one capable of persuading a guy like the Rhino to attack an office building that is used as a 'front' for the Kingpin of Crime."

"Smart man," Osborn answered, "and I didn't tell you because you didn't need to know. Besides, Fisk is also a smart man. If you didn't show up for 'work' and I attacked, Fisk would have figured out that you are my spy, and I can't afford to lose you as an employee."

On the roof of the warehouse, Black Cat looked in through skylight to see Osborn seated on an easy chair looking at Bookkeeper. Quietly and carefully she moved away so that she couldn't be seen and sighed.

"Well, I appear to have found it," Black Cat thought to herself, "But I am not going to just attack him. He's not attacking anyone else and Spider isn't here."

With that, she fired off her grappling hook and swung away.

**Kingpin's Headquarters**

Arachne threw a strong kick at the Rhino after dodging away from his attack. The blow knocked him down, but it was clear that the Rhino was not going to be going down for the count anytime soon.

"Can he feel anything through that suit?" Arachne asked.

"Yes, but unfortunately, neither of us are strong enough or have a large enough club-like weapon to really do anything," Spider-Man answered his partner, "With the Rhino, our best bet is to try and land as many blows on his face as possible."

Spider-Man then leaped into the air, intending to get a blow in on the Rhino's face, but the villain grabbed him in mid air and then threw him Arachne. The two heroes collided and ended up in a heap against the wall.

"And that's where the part where I get smarter comes into play," Rhino spoke as he walked closer, "You think I'm so stupid or somethin' that I wouldn't think to protect my face? Well, do you?"

"You don't want to know the answer," Spider-Man answered as fired of a blast of webbing that covered Rhino's face.

While Rhino wrestled with the webbing that temporarily had him blinded, Arachne moved over and grabbed a nearby filing cabinet. Despite her spider-strength, she could tell that it was full, and then threw the cabinet at the Rhino. The flying cabinet knocked him down, and actually lay on him for a few moments while the Rhino continued to struggle with the webbing over his face.

"Um, destroying the furniture is never a good think in this line of work," Spider-Man commented, "Especially if there are any legal documents in here along with the evidence against Fisk's activities as the Kingpin."

"We've got to hit him with something harder then our fists," Arachne countered, "We'll be here all night if we do that."

"Maybe if we got him outside," Spider-Man mused and then leaped forward, jumped over the Rhino, touching the villain's head and said, "Tag, you're it!"

Rhino threw the filing cabinet back at Arachne and then ran after Spider-Man. He ripped the webbing away from his face as he did so. Arachne could only dodge the cabinet and then run after them. Spider-Man, meanwhile, bounced from wall to wall as he listened to the Rhino follow him. He had to get Rhino outside. One was that he couldn't do as much structural damage out there. The other thing was that outside he could use his webslinging abilities to land a stronger blow against the Rhino.

"Hey, come back here!" Rhino screamed from behind him, "I ain't finished with you yet!"

"No, I'd much rather play outside," Spider-Man answered as he leaped up onto the side of a building.

The Rhino advanced out onto the sidewalk.

"Come down here and fight like a man!" Rhino ordered.

"No, you come up here and fight like a spider," Spider-Man retorted.

Rhino didn't get a chance to answer as Arachne delivered a flying kick to his back, making him fall face first into the street and skid forward a few feet before being stopped by a parked car.

"That hurt!" Rhino growled as he got up, "I can't believe some newbie hurt me!"

Spider-Man then jumped down and landed on the Rhino's back. He then swung his fists as hard as he could so that he could land a blow on both sides of the villain's head.

"It's really hard being dumb isn't it?" Spider-Man teased him.

Rhino only roared and attempted to quickly back into one of the nearby buildings and crush Spider-Man, but the webslinger leaped clear and Arachne actually webbed Rhino to the building as he made contact. While Rhino struggled to break free of Arachne's webs, Spider-Man jumped down and landed right in front of the Rhino and landed a blow right on Rhino's face that knocked him out.

"Well, that takes care of him," Spider-Man commented, "Now to deal with Fisk."

The two made their way back into the building to find that the room where they had found Rhino, Nobody, and Fisk was empty. Only the crumbled bits of wall that the Rhino had charged through and the damaged furniture that had been a result of the battle remained.

"Shoot," Spider-Man commented.

"The Scriers must have rescued him while we took Rhino out," Arachne commented.

"Either way, he got away," Spider-Man sighed, "But that was a great punch you landed on him."

"Really?" Arachne replied.

Spider-Man nodded, "Of course. You see, you are getting much better at all this hero stuff. And I've got to say I'm a bet jealous. In most of the fights I've been in with Fisk, I've never had the opportunity to just nail him with a haymaker."

"Sure," Arachne answered, "You've got to be kidding me."

"No, Fisk is a lot faster and a lot stronger then he looks," Spider-Man told her, "I've never had the opportunity."

"I guess things will be reasonably calm for now," Arachne commented, "Who do you think sent the Rhino after Fisk?"

"Knowing my luck?" Spider-Man replied, "Probably Osborn himself. Let's head back to the Tower. One super villain and five gangsters taken out are more then enough for one day."

**The Bronx, Hours Later**

Fisk awakened to find himself in a warehouse that had no windows and the lights were kept rather dim.

"Where am I?" Fisk asked aloud, although to no one in particular.

"You are in a warehouse that the Brotherhood of Scriers secretly owns," Scrier answered from the shadows, "the heroine, Arachne, knocked you out before aiding Spider-Man in defeating Rhino."

"Rhino," Fisk growled, "If I didn't know better, I would swear that this was Osborn's doing."

"And if it was?" Scrier asked, "Osborn has not been on your mind of late."

"He has been on my mind," Fisk growled, "But I didn't know where he was earlier, and I still do not know where he is now. How can I attack him when I can't determine his location?"

"You should have made a greater effort to find him, rather then worry about Spider-Man or your criminal empire," Scrier answered, "As they were not part of our bargain."

"After this, I intend to deal very directly with Osborn," Fisk told him, "Very directly. He wants a fight, then he will get a fight, and I will crush him."

"It is good to see that your mind is finally where it is supposed to be," Scrier answered.

"I need to contact my lieutenants," Fisk answered, "And begin planning."

"The means to do so are here," Scrier answered, "Now…"

Scrier went silent as footsteps were heard nearby. Fisk looked on suspiciously while Scrier faded back into the shadows. Fisk was prepared to attack the new comer when he saw the Black Cat step into view. She looked rather annoyed.

"You could let a girl know when and where you're moving," Black Cat spoke to Fisk, "I just went over half of New York trying to find you and in the end I had to beat up half of Manhattan's street thugs just to get someone who saw you being carried in this direction."

"My dear, Ms. Hardy," Fisk began, trying to hide his anger and frustration, "you must realize that I'm a very busy man and I have a lot of work to do. Now, I trust you've accomplished your mission?"

"Yeah, I've found Osborn," Black Cat answered, "He's holed up in a warehouse on the west side of Manhattan. I can point it out to you on a map if you want and you can send your thugs there to have your little war."

"My instructions were that you bring him to me," Fisk said in a commanding voice.

"I don't run crime errands," Black Cat answered, "I may take jobs that involve tracking down money that's been stolen or lost, but I am not going to be some crime boss's hit man."

"But Osborn is just as big a threat as you probably perceive me of being," Fisk answered.

"True, but I'm a PI," Black Cat answered, "A lot of what I do is information gathering. And most of the bad guys I bring in are not super powered. I'm not challenging the Green Goblin to a fight. You can do that yourself. Take it or leave it."

"Fine," Fisk sighed, "Just tell me where he is, and remember, if you're lying…"

"I get the picture," Black Cat said back, "Do you have a map?"

**To Be Continued… **


	7. Caught in the Middle

-1All characters appearing in Spider-Man are copyrighted to Marvel Entertainment and Stan Lee. No infringement of these copyrights is intended, and is not authorized by the copyright holder. All original characters are the property of TVfan.

Note: this story is a sequel to my "A New Life" story, and begins a few days after it.

All the King's Men

By TVfan

**Chapter 7: Caught in the Middle**

**Avengers Tower**

"Well, it's good to see that the news is still covering Spider-Man in a good light," Peter commented as he turned off the television, "the televised news, anyway."

"I was there, too, remember that," Mary Jane spoke from beside him.

Peter gave a sort of teasing smile, "But I'm still the star attraction."

Mary Jane then playfully bopped him beside the head with a pillow to show that she didn't find the joke funny. Peter then spoke seriously.

"I know you were there," Peter answered, "and you were instrumental in bringing down the Rhino. You can add him to another of my villains that you've beaten up."

"Another?" Mary Jane asked.

"Well," Peter began, "You shot Osborn when he tried to drop you off a bridge and you beat up the Chameleon with a baseball bat for starters."

Mary Jane gave a weak shrug in response, "Those instances seemed to be different from now."

"You weren't 'Arachne' then," Peter answered, "And as I've said repeatedly, you've made outstanding progress. I'd say you're probably ready to operate as Arachne completely on your own."

"What, you're saying my training is over?" Mary Jane asked, "There's plenty that I haven't learned yet."

"I think we've done everything that can easily be taught here," Peter sighed, "We've tested your strength, maximized your ability to use your spider-sense, mastered wall crawling and web-slinging, and Jessica has taught you how to use your pheromone powers. The only thing that I would think you have left is getting your brain to think strategically with every fight, how to take out a bad guy, super-powered or not, and that is something that I continually relearn everyday."

"You're still learning?" Mary Jane asked, "But you've been Spider-Man for years."

"Yes, I've been Spider-Man for years," Peter answered, "Since I was fifteen, as a matter of fact, but figuring out how to beat a villain is something that I'm always learning or figuring out. If I didn't, I'd fight every villain the same way I fought either the last villain or he last time I'd fought that particular villain. And since, in nearly every case, their strategies and sometimes abilities change, that would get me in far more trouble."

"It's sorta like problem solving then," Mary Jane commented.

"Sorta, except the solution usually involves your fists or something along those lines," Peter answered, "and even at this, you're progressing very well."

"I don't know for sure," Mary Jane replied, "A lot of this is still new to me."

"I'm sure," Peter nodded, "All of this is basically done the way we've been doing the rest of your training."

"Getting into fights with the mob?" Mary Jane asked.

Peter only smiled, "I'll make a jokester out of you yet."

Mary Jane managed a brief laugh and then looked at Peter seriously.

"You said earlier you thought Osborn was behind the Rhino's attack?" Mary Jane asked.

"Either that or some other crime lord," Peter sighed, "Although I'd lean towards Osborn though, as my luck always seems to lead to the tougher challenge and the fact that Fisk hasn't been involved in any major fights with what remains of the Maggia and other major crime syndicates since he apparently launched the attack that put Hammerhead in the hospital."

"Couldn't some new group be moving in?" Mary Jane asked.

"Not if they've paid attention to what has happened recently," Peter answered, "The Maggia was Fisk's main opponent for taking over New York crime and was quite powerful. Fisk shattered it rather easily. If there's anyone new out there, they won't be bothering Fisk or us, for that matter, for a while. No, Rhino's attack has to be because of Osborn himself."

"I guess that means he's figured out that Fisk is after him," Mary Jane sighed, "Maybe we just ought to let the two of the fight it out. We could then nail the winner much easier then it would be to sit between two warring factions."

"They would destroy the city in their own fighting," Peter answered, "We've got to take the high road on this one."

"Just trying to 'think strategically'," Mary Jane told him.

"Too much risk that way," Peter sighed, "If this were a situation where they wouldn't do much to a lot of innocent people, I'd let them fight each other, as it would save me the trouble. But, Osborn is insane enough to be willing to cause a lot of senseless destruction, while Fisk runs his criminal syndicate like the President runs the country. If it means war, Fisk will go to war and regard the consequences as collateral damage."

"So I suppose we'll be out getting ourselves in trouble tomorrow then?" Mary Jane asked.

"Probably," Peter sighed, "At least to make sure everything is quiet."

**Elsewhere**

"You're what?" Fisk demanded into a cellphone.

"We're all being held overnight by the cops," came Fancy Dan's voice over the other line, "Spider-Man and his annoying sidekick left us dangling from a light pole."

Fisk was privately furious, as he wanted them to largely distract Spider-Man and Arachne while he hunted for Osborn, but didn't say anything, at least not to the Enforcer who had decided to make his one telephone call.

"They're only holding you overnight?" Fisk asked.

"Yeah," Fancy Dan replied, "Criminal mischief, which we can deny we were even doing that, as there were no apparent witnesses."

"I expect to see you sometime tomorrow," Fisk answered, "Scrier will take you to my new headquarters."

"Of course, boss," Fancy Dan answered sounding nervous, while Fisk hung up his phone.

"I wish you would not involve me in the affairs of you organization," Scrier spoke stepping out of the shadows.

"You decided to help when you wanted me to hunt down and bring you Osborn," Fisk answered, "Besides, the Enforcers do not know where we have moved to since the Rhino's attack."

"And you need them, because…?" Scrier asked.

"I will need them to insure that the other crime families do not oppose me in the future," Fisk answered, "And since they've gone and done something so stupid as to allow themselves to be arrested, even if they're only to be held for a short time, I need to talk with them."

"You might do better to let them wander on their own if Spider-Man and his partner are able to defeat them so easily," Scrier commented.

"Spider-Man and Arachne beat them because they are not super powered and probably picked a location that was to their advantage," Fisk answered, "such as an enclosed space or on top of a building, where in Manhattan they can use their web-spinning abilities to make a more difficult target."

"All the more reason to get rid of them if they are so incompetent as to challenge an enemy at his strengths," Scrier replied.

"They are the best I have," Fisk answered, "I will need them if I am to kill Osborn for you."

"I trust they are not the only henchmen you are sending," Scrier commented, "Osborn has given Spider-Man a run for his money on many occasions, and will be difficult to beat. If they can not beat Spider-Man, they will not beat the Green Goblin."

"They will not be the only ones," Fisk answered with a confident smile, "But they will be necessary."

**Warehouse, West Side of Manhattan**

"What are you doing back here?" Osborn demanded as Bookkeeper walked into the warehouse where he had set up his hideout, "I sent you to go keep an eye on Fisk."

"He isn't there," Bookkeeper answered, "There's no one, other then the police around that building you sent he Rhino to. It's still an incredible mess over there."

"Were any of Fisk's employees there?" Osborn asked.

"None that I could recognize," Bookkeeper answered, "I ended up having to answer a lot of questions asked by the police. Once I got out of there, I decided it was too dangerous to go around looking for wherever Fisk has moved to."

Osborn only sighed, "I suppose there will be some sign of where he's gone to eventually. Men like Fisk do a lot of business which is really difficult to hide completely."

"You're not going to send me out after him, are you?" Bookkeeper asked.

"I will need you to keep an eye out for what Fisk is doing," Osborn answered, "But the present conflict with Fisk will have to wait for a while. I have a more serious annoyance to deal with."

"More serious?" Bookkeeper asked, "Fisk wants to kill you!"

"No, Fisk wants what I want," Osborn answered, "Control of New York City. If he could get it without killing me, I'm sure he'd settle for that. It's the Scriers that want me dead, but I can deal with them. It is Fisk, himself, who is the more dangerous opponent."

"So why are you ignoring him?" Bookkeeper asked.

"Because of Spider-Man and his new 'partner'," Osborn growled, "Rhino would have eventually taken care of Fisk if it wasn't for them. I would have preferred to wait until I was in a position of power before I dealt with him, but it appears that that arachnid can not keep his nose out of my business. Not that I really expected him to, though."

"So you're switching targets now?" Bookkeeper asked.

"Once Spider-Man is out of the way, I can move on Fisk unopposed," Osborn answered, "and do not worry, I will not ask you to fight him."

"Oh, that's a relief," Bookkeeper sighed sounding nervous.

"I will still need you to find out where Fisk has gone and keep tabs on him," Osborn spoke, "Which means, when you find him, you are to resume your spying duties."

Bookkeeper only sighed, fearing what would happen to him if Fisk had figured out what he was up to.

**Avengers Tower, the next morning**

Mary Jane was sitting in a chair at the breakfast table sipping from a cup of coffee while reading through the script to the new play that she had picked up when Aunt May came in.

"How are things going, dear?" Aunt May asked as she sat down in her own chair.

Mary Jane looked up, "Pretty good I guess. Just looking through the script for a new play that I picked up. You know, trying to maintain some resemblance of normal life between the times that I'm wearing spandex. Peter does much the same thing when he isn't in costume."

"Where is Peter?" Aunt May asked, "He hasn't left already, has he?"

"He was still asleep when I got up," Mary Jane answered, "I didn't want to wake him."

"I know I say this a lot, but it must really exhaust him," Aunt May commented.

"Physically, he's fine," Mary Jane said weakly, "I've recently found myself having a lot more energy. Peter would explain it as a side effect of my powers and a beneficial side effect, but I just call it extra energy. I don't seem to tire as easily as I used to."

"That must help with all the jumping and running and so forth," Aunt May commented.

"It does," Mary Jane answered, "Thankfully it doesn't have me bouncing off every wall. It's kind of hard to explain."

"It's enhanced stamina and is part of your super-strength," came Peter's voice as he came into the room, "It's increased stamina that you feel, not necessarily energy."

"There is a difference?" Mary Jane asked.

"Having extra energy would keep you up and demand you keep moving," Peter explained, "Increased stamina means you can keep moving, even if you feel tired. It also helps you recover from the blows of some of the more powerful bad guys. That's how its tied into our superhuman strength. It allows us to use that strength to its fullest potential. Without it, while your muscles would have the strength to lift ten tons, they wouldn't have the ability to hold it up."

"So it's increased stamina?" Aunt May asked.

"Yeah, it's probably a side effect of anyone that gains enhanced strength when they get super-powers," Peter said.

"Sleep well?" Mary Jane asked as Peter poured himself a cup of coffee and sat down.

"Yeah," Peter nodded, "Slept well, anything going on?"

"Not at the moment," Mary Jane answered, "Just reading the script I picked up."

That seemed to interest Peter quite a bit.

"What's it about?" Peter asked.

"It seems to be about a mother whose son has gone off to fight in some war or something," Mary Jane answered, "What confuses me is that the mother is supposed to be rather young to be a mother."

"Everyone seems to be writing about wars and things," Aunt May commented, "Why doesn't anyone write comedies anymore?"

"It's a fairly good story, actually," Mary Jane answered, "It just makes the mother of the soldier seem rather young."

"Is she the only female character?" Peter asked.

"No, and the mother isn't actually the character that I would try for," Mary Jane answered, "there is actually a neighbor of the mother who is a young woman, which I think is a good role."

Peter and Aunt May nodded.

"So what is the plan for today?" Aunt May asked.

"For right now, I mostly intend to follow the news," Peter commented, "Kingpin and Osborn are likely to be at each other's throats now. They're bound to do something that will make the news and I can step in. I might patrol later to try and be proactive about it, but for now, I'll follow the news and catch up on some projects around here. Making spider-tracers and such."

"Spider-tracers?" Aunt May asked.

"Yes, tuned to MJ's spider-sense as opposed to mine," Peter explained, "That way if she needs to track someone, she can."

"Tuned?" Mary Jane asked.

"Yes, it will emit a radio frequency that is the exact same as the frequency of your brain waves," Peter explained, "Thus your spider sense will buzz slightly whenever your close to it."

"Wouldn't it set off yours two?" Mary Jane asked.

"No," Peter answered, "I figured out the technology when I was just becoming spider-man. As you know our spider-sense is a sort of psychic danger warning system and is heavily connected with our brains."

"It warns us of danger," Mary Jane nodded, "You've already explained this to me."

"Yes," Peter nodded, "But it operates out of our brain waves, which are naturally emitted by all humans, superhuman or not."

"So how does this tracer work again?" Mary Jane asked.

"When I invented them, I simply set the device to operate on a frequency that matches my brainwaves," Peter answered, "So when my spider-tracers are active and nearby, I can sense them with my spider-sense."

"Shouldn't I be able to sense them too then?" Mary Jane asked.

"Not mine," Peter corrected, "No one's brain waves are the same. I'd think that a family member's might be similar, but still not identical. And, as you and I, MJ are not related by blood, but only by our marriage with each other, our brain wave patterns have no similarity. Your spider-sense won't pick up my tracers and my spider-sense won't pick up yours once I get them up and running."

**Kingpin's New Headquarters**

"I am most disappointed in you," Fisk spoke in a calm voice as the Enforcers stood in front of him, "I expected you to pick a position where Spider-Man and Arachne could not use their web-slinging abilities to their advantage."

"We're sorry, sir," Montana answered, "We thought we might get the drop on 'em if we could get a better line of sight."

"It failed, though," Ox finished.

"I know," Fisk answered, "Fortunately our little conflict with Osborn flared up yesterday, and it was a good thing that you failed. Otherwise, I'd be squashed between the Rhino's toes."

The Enforcers looked at each other and then back at Fisk. The massively built crime boss meanwhile continued.

"I also, have extremely good news," Fisk continued, "Black Cat has managed to find out where Osborn is hiding out. I am expecting you three to lead the team that will be taking out my primary target in this affair."

"What about Spider-Man and his girlfriend?" Fancy Dan asked.

"They are no longer important," Fisk answered, "Osborn wants a war, I intend to give him one."

"So we're to go after Osborn directly?" Ox asked.

"Yes," Fisk nodded, "He knows I'm here and apparently wishes to challenge me. This is more now then merely paying a debt to the Scriers. This is war."

The Enforcers nodded in understanding.

"We'll be on our way then," Montana spoke, "You said the rest of the team is waiting?"

"Yes," Fisk nodded, "They'll contact you when you get close."

"Thanks," Fancy Dan commented as he and the Enforcers walked out.

Once the door shut, Fisk suddenly heard his cellphone begin ringing. Fisk sighed and answered it, knowing that it was probably just some minor subordinate reporting a minor occurrence.

"Yes," Fisk spoke into his phone.

"Sir, I have to report something to you," Nobody spoke on the other line.

"It had better be good news," Fisk answered in a firm tone, "The Enforcers have just left to begin the attack against Osborn."

"That I why I am calling, sir," Nobody told him, "I have a question concerning the attack on Osborn."

"Hm?" Fisk asked, now sounding curious, "What is this?"

"Does it matter whether or not Osborn is in his little 'base' when we launch our attack?" Nobody asked, "Or can we attack him if he happens to move somewhere else?"

"What is going on?" Fisk demanded, sounding very serious.

"Osborn just left the warehouse he has been holed up in," Nobody reported, "and he left in costume. Any attack will mean directly dealing with the Green Goblin."

"We would have had to deal with the Green Goblin anyway," Fisk answered, "Is Bookkeeper still there? Or did he leave as well?"

"He left ten minutes ago, although not looking anywhere nearly as confident as Osborn was," Nobody answered.

"Where is he headed?" Fisk asked.

"The vapor trail from his glider would indicate toward the center of Manhattan," Nobody replied, "But I can not be certain where he is going specifically."

"You are still to go after him," Fisk ordered, "But I want you to wait until the Enforcers arrive. And be careful when dealing with Osborn. Unlike Spider-Man and Arachne, he is likely to use lethal force at any attack."

"Of course, sir," Nobody answered and then hung up.

"Where would he be going?" Fisk mused to himself as he put his cellphone in his pocket.

"More then likely he is going to directly deal with Spider-Man and Arachne," Scrier spoke, stepping out of the shadows.

"I wasn't talking to you," Fisk said firmly as Scrier approached.

"Maybe, but you asked a question that I overheard," Scrier replied, "I was merely answering your question to give you some explanation as to what an why Osborn is doing what he is doing."

"What is he doing?" Fisk asked.

"Most likely he is seeking revenge on those who foiled his plot with the Rhino," Scrier answered, "I observed that Osborn has a very large vengeance streak in his personality. When he falls into it, he really falls into it."

"I suspected Osborn sent the Rhino," Fisk commented, "That leviathan's attack would make no sense otherwise, but why would he suddenly change targets knowing I'm still alive? The move is not strategically wise."

"That is because Osborn's 'genius' only works when there are no complicating factors to his plans," Scrier answered, "When his only enemy was Spider-Man, there was no need for advanced strategic thinking. This is the first time he's faced a major enemy other then Spider-Man."

"But why obsess with Spider-Man now?" Fisk asked.

"Spider-Man and Arachne foiled his plot with the Rhino," Scrier reminded him, "In his mind he either feels you are in league with him or the fact that they interfered as angered Osborn to the point where he is simply going to fly off the handle."

"Having a temper like that is not going to help you last long in this world," Fisk commented.

"It has been observed by my order that Osborn has always had a lot of trouble with controlling his temper," Scrier answered, "And we suspect that there has always been some insanity, even before his involvement in the Gathering of Five."

Fisk nodded. He didn't know what the 'Gathering of Five' was, but it was not something that he was interested in. If Osborn had been burned by this, that was Osborn's problem.

"This will benefit us in the long run," Fisk sighed, "If Osborn attacks Spider-Man, we might be able to remove two birds with one stone."

Scrier nodded but said nothing.

**Avengers Tower**

"So we're going out to find Osborn?" Mary Jane asked as she and Peter began to head out, both is costume except for their masks.

"Or of Fisk," Peter answered as he pulled his mask on, "I doubt either of them will be able to keep their hands off of each other. We must try and keep them apart."

"And suppose when we find them, they're already going at it?" Mary Jane asked as she pulled on her mask.

"Then we'll have to restrain both and try to reduce the amount of damage that they cause," Spider-Man sighed and reached to open the window, when his Spider-Sense went off.

"Look out!" Spider-Man yelled and dove backward, intending to take Arachne out of the way, but she had already begun to do a back flip herself, and both easily made it away from a massive explosion.

"Tony's gonna kill me," Spider-Man commented as he rolled over and sat up.

Arachne didn't answer as she sat up to see that the wall that they had been standing near had been totally destroyed.

"We're under attack!" Arachne spoke.

Spider-Man didn't have time to answer as his spider-sense went off again and a cluster of flying bombs came their way. Both Spider-Man and Arachne again leaped back, and this time, managed to avoid the brunt of the blast without having to go to the ground.

"And whoever is attacking means business," Spider-Man commented under his breath.

"Of course I mean business, Spider-Man," a harsh voice spoke out of the darkness, "Vengeance demands it!"

As the smoke cleared, Spider-Man saw that it was Norman Osborn, himself, decked out in the costume of the Green Goblin.

"Good afternoon, Spider-Man and…" the Green Goblin spoke and then began to smile, "Arachne. My things have certainly changed since we last met. I guess I can't settle for dropping you off of a bridge."

"Go to hell!" Arachne screamed at him, knowing that the Goblin had figured out her identity.

"Oh, I don't intend to," the Green Goblin smiled, "There is just so much I need to do, namely, punish you for your involvement in what happened yesterday."

Spider-Man and Arachne didn't answer him.

"You both did an incredibly foolish thing yesterday," the Green Goblin snarled.

"I knew I shouldn't have buttered that muffin," Spider-Man quipped.

"You know what I mean," the Green Goblin growled back in irritation, "Stopping the Rhino."

"We should have let a one ton criminal run through every building in Manhattan?" Spider-Man asked, "Are you going senile, Norman?"

"I would have ridden you of one of your major enemies," the Green Goblin answered.

"We're not a fan of you or of Wilson Fisk," Arachne answered, "And if you're here to fight, you're doing a poor job of it."

"If you insist," the Green Goblin answered and readied a pumpkin bomb and threw it at Arachne.

Arachne only felt the bomb coming through her Spider-Sense and leaped away before the bomb could hit her. She landed on the ceiling not too far away. She then fired a pair of weblines, hoping to trap the Green Goblin in them, but despite the narrow hallway, he was easily able to maneuver his glider so that the weblines only hit the floor. Unfortunately for him, his maneuver took him into a flying tackle from Spider-Man.

Spider-Man's attack took the Green Goblin to the ground and webbed hero then proceeded to land a blow against the Goblin's face. The Goblin only ignored it. He reached with one hand into a pocket and activated a remote.

"Very foolish, Spider-Man," the Green Goblin growled.

Spider-Man then felt his spider-sense flare like crazy. He rolled over to find the Green Goblin's glider coming at him at full speed. Knowing that the thing had 'killed' Norman in one of his earlier battles and killed his clone, Ben Reilly, he quickly rolled away from the pointed center of the glider, but found himself unable to avoid the wing of the glider. The glider carried Spider-Man toward the exit and through a wall.

The Goblin couldn't relish in his victory for long as Arachne leaped from her spot on the ceiling, intending to place a kick though the Green Goblin's neck. He managed to flip away in time, leaving Arachne to harmlessly bounce off of the floor.

"You'll need to practice your heroics, Mrs. Parker," the Green Goblin sneered, "Even your husband knows I'm too quick to fall for some cheap stunt like that!"

"I think she did fine," came a mechanized voice out of nowhere.

The Green Goblin turned to feel a strong hand grab him by the back of the neck. He found Iron Man standing there.

"How did you…" the Green Goblin began.

"Spider-Man is a member of the Avengers now, and his partner might as well be a reserve member," Iron Man answered, "Do you honestly think that you can just attack where he lives anymore?"

The Goblin didn't answer. Iron Man only tightened his grip.

"And I am rather tired of maniacs in goblin costumes throwing bombs at my building," Iron Man finished.

The Goblin fiddled with something on his belt for a moment.

"Watch out, Iron Man!" Arachne warned.

The warning was too late as the Green Goblin pulled out a small mechanical device and placed it on Iron Man's chest. Once there, Iron Man seemed to be engulfed in electricity and dropped the Green Goblin.

"Then you should consider hiring heroes who don't have such powerful villains that have personal grudges," the Green Goblin spoke to Iron Man in a scolding voice, "This isn't your fight. This is between me, Spider-Man, and Mrs. Parker here."

"Let's take this outside!" Arachne said firmly as leaped forward, grabbed the Green Goblin by the shoulders and threw him out the window and wall that he had earlier blown a hole in.

"Parker hasn't done have bad with her," the Green Goblin mused to himself as he pulled out his glider remote again to save himself from falling.

One hundred feet away, the Green Goblin's glider suddenly stopped and reversed direction, leaving Spider-Man to use a webline to catch himself. He did, and returned to the roof of a building near the Avengers Tower. He found the Goblin getting back on his glider. He quickly rocketed toward Spider-Man.

"You know, Parker," the Green Goblin began, "I was just thinking on how good you've trained your wife at all of this. Our games might be a little tougher from now on."

"This isn't a game, Norman," Spider-Man answered in a very firm voice.

The Goblin only continued circling on his glider when a new voice cut in.

"He's right, you know," came the new voice, followed by a series of gunshots.

Spider-Man turned to see a series of bullets fly through the air and strike the Goblin's glider. The bullets did damage to the glider's engine and he watched in surprise as the Goblin and glider crashed on another nearby roof. Spider-Man then turned to the rooftop where he had heard the voices come from and fond the Enforcers standing there.

"What?!" Spider-Man gasped, "Arachne and I left you dangling!"

"The cops only held us for one night," Fancy Dan answered, "Criminal mischief. You left no evidence that we committed any crime."

"And we ain't committing a crime now, either," Ox commented.

"Yeah," Montana nodded in agreement, "We're just taking out the trash."

The Green Goblin's landing on the other rooftop was rather rough and he nearly rolled off of the roof of the building. Thankfully his strength with the Goblin formula prevented that from happening. That, however, did not end his ordeal as a man in black clothing and holding automatic weapons appeared out of nowhere and began firing on him. The Goblin's body armor in his costume protected him, and he threw a few pumpkin bombs toward the man while his armor took the punishment.

"Goodbye," the Green Goblin smiled when he heard he bombs go off and got up.

"Not quite," Nobody answered, appearing directly in front of the Green Goblin and physically hitting him in the face with one of his guns.

The Goblin attempted to swing out and trip Nobody with his legs, but Nobody again vanished from view. As the Goblin got up he then heard something he wasn't accustomed to, someone laughing at him.

"Who are you?" the Green Goblin demanded.

"Me?" Nobody answered as he appeared on the other end of the roof, "I'm just a Nobody, but I wasn't the one laughing."

The Goblin raised an eyebrow when a large man with almost white skin appeared out from behind a raised wall on the other side of the roof that he was on.

"Tombstone!" the Green Goblin gasped, "I thought you'd struck out on your own!"

"I have," Tombstone answered, "But I never fully cut any ties of 'friendship' with the Kingpin. He wants you dead so he can rebuild his lost empire, then that is fine by me. It will bring me more business."

"Fine then, goodbye," the Green Goblin growled and threw a pumpkin bomb at the powerfully built man.

He watched it fly until some strange yellowish colored blob flew out from behind Tombstone and hit the Green Goblin's pumpkin bomb and knocked it to the ground. The bomb then exploded and knocked the Green Goblin off of his feet. He then looked up to see a 'man' seemingly made out of the same yellowish goop walk out from behind Tombstone.

"They'll always remember the name of the Glue after you're beaten," the new 'man' said with a smile.

"Well this is just great," the Green Goblin grumbled.

"I guess I'm just gonna have to make sure you three go back to jail!" Spider-Man spoke as he leaped from the building he was on to land a kick against Ox's chest, knocking the larger man down.

The move took the rest of the Enforcers by surprise.

"Aren't we supposed to help deal with Osborn?" Montana asked as he tried to wrap his whip around Spider-Man's neck.

"Nobody and Tombstone should be more then enough to deal with Osborn," Fancy Dan answered, "Especially without his glider. Let's take care of this major pain in the butt!"

"Fine be me," Montana commented and prepared to attack Spider-Man with his whip again.

Montana's attack was cut off by the a 'thwip' like noise and the Enforcers were very surprised to see that a strand of webbing had caught Montana's whip and pulled it away from where Spider-Man was. They then looked over to see that Arachne had caught up with the fight.

"Shouldn't you three be in jail?" Arachne asked as she held onto her webline.

"Kill her too!" Fancy Dan shouted and began firing on Arachne.

Fancy Dan's shots again missed Arachne as her spider-sense warned her of danger well before the bullet's were even fired. She began to leap toward where Fancy Dan was standing as he was focused almost entirely on her. Montana and Ox meanwhile targeted Spider-Man.

Ox lunged at Spider-Man and managed to land a blow that knocked Spider-Man back a few feet, while Montana worked to get Arachne's webbing off of his whip. Once it was off, he again tried to wrap it around Spider-Man's neck. The attempt missed, but he did manage to get it wrapped around one of Spider-Man's arms. He pulled back with all his might, surprising Spider-Man enough to allow Ox to land a crushing blow against him, knocking Spider-Man to the ground.

"This will be easy, this time," Montana said in triumph.

Montana's gloat was premature as Spider-Man recovered with a backflip and threw a kick that launched the 'western' themed Enforcer backwards and through a door to a raised structure on the top of the roof. Spider-Man could then hear him fall down a flight of stairs.

"If you think I'm going to go down easily, then you've got another thing coming," Spider-Man said back.

Ox growled and threw a punch at Spider-Man. With Montana out of the fight, and Arachne dealing with Fancy Dan, Spider-Man didn't need to worry about running into someone else, and he easily dodged the blow.

"Come on, you can do better then that," Spider-Man taunted as he dodged an attempt by Ox to try and crush him with his foot, which confused Spider-Man slightly as he was still standing up, and Ox wasn't that much taller then him.

Spider-Man then dodged the Ox again and jumped over toward the structure that he had sent Montana flying through the door of.

"Come on, are you gonna just stand there, or are you going to come and get me?!" Spider-Man taunted, "Or are you too chicken?"

This only served to enrage Ox, and he lunged at Spider-Man, fully intent on ripping the hero in half. Unfortunately for Ox, as soon as he got close to where Spider-Man was, the webbed hero leaped up and delivered a powerful kick to the Ox's back. This added to Ox's momentum and he went crashing through the wall and fell down the same flight of stairs that Montana had earlier fallen down. At he bottom of the flight of stairs, Montana was only beginning to recover when Ox and a pile of rubble landed on him, knocking him out.

"Two down," Spider-Man commented dusting off his hands.

Arachne's battle with Fancy Dan went much more easily. While Fancy Dan was a good shot, he couldn't correct his aim to deal with Arachne's spider-sense and his bullets flew harmlessly by her as she dodged and twisted on instinct. She quickly managed to land a strong punch on him, knocking him to the ground.

"I will not lose again!" Fancy Dan vowed and rolled over to fire at Arachne again.

He had scarcely rolled over when he felt Arachne's webbing wrap around his guns and his wrists. This resulted in his guns being both clogged, and having all of the moving parts of his weapons stuck in the position they were in before they were covered in webbing. He couldn't use them.

"You lost!" Arachne smiled as she then laid into Fancy Dan with a powerful blow that sent him flying across the roof.

Fancy Dan landed on the other end of the roof, unconscious and remained there in his unconscious state. Arachne, meanwhile, watched the rest of Spider-Man's fight with Montana and Ox. Once Ox appeared to be down for the count, Arachne approached Spider-Man.

"What's with these guys?" Arachne asked.

"Apparently no one saw them attack us yesterday," Spider-Man shrugged, "they were only charged with criminal mischief."

"No, I meant why are we dealing with them?" Arachne asked, "It was Osborn who attacked us first."

"Apparently Fisk is deciding to repay the favor Osborn gave him yesterday," Spider-Man sighed, "These guys attacked Norman after he came flying out of the tower, and Fisk has at least three more hired goons out here to fight Osborn."

"Great," Arachne sighed, "I suppose we'll have to save Osborn now?"

"Can't stand by and let him get killed," Spider-Man answered, "Even if it's his own fault."

Arachne's mood soured, "He's done nothing but bring you grief, Tiger. You sure we can't just let Fisk kill him, if he's already been captured? It would make things a lot easier for us. Such as one less major villain to deal with."

"I know," Spider-Man sighed, "But Fisk won't let up. If he succeeds in killing Osborn, he may try to escalate his gang war with the other bosses to take full control over New York. If we can keep Osborn alive and send him to prison, Fisk won't be able to do much as he knows a potential enemy is locked up and in a position where he can't be easily assassinated."

"That doesn't make any sense to me," Arachne commented.

"It doesn't make any sense to me either, but it's the best I can come up with," Spider-Man sighed, "We can't let Fisk kill Osborn. We can't. It just wouldn't be right."

The Green Goblin, meanwhile was practically furious with his situation. Tombstone was far stronger then he had thought, and Nobody would vanish and appear at will to fire on him. The Goblin was eternally grateful that his armor easily protected him from the bullets. The Glue was barely a second rate crook as far as the Goblin was concerned, but with the other two present, there wasn't much that he could do to focus on him.

"Come on, this is all very unnecessary," the Green Goblin spoke, "You don't have to serve Fisk."

"And serve you instead?" Nobody asked back as he appeared and fired into the Green Goblin's chest, "An insane lunatic who's spent the better part of his life fighting a man half his age who he can't beat?"

The Goblin roared with anger and threw a punch at Nobody, but he vanished before the Goblin's fist could hit him. The Green Goblin ended up with his fist smashing into the wall of a raised structure on the roof. He was then startled when his fist was coated in the sticky substance that the Glue was able to throw around.

"Fisk won't give you what you want," the Green Goblin spoke, "All he cares about is his power and his empire. He doesn't care about you."

"And you do?" Tombstone asked.

"I would provide you with opportunities to accomplish goals that would fit your personal goals," the Green Goblin answered.

"Like spending all our time fighting Spider-Man?" the Glue asked.

"He and his ilk are the greater problem," the Green Goblin answered, still trying to get his hand out of the glue, "Villains should fight heroes. That is the natural order of things. Working for Fisk, you'll be sent after other villains half the time to preserve his power."

"This ain't some nature show, Goblin," Tombstone spoke, "There is no natural order to the way things go. We're bad guys yes, but we deal with whoever gets in our way, regardless of whether or not they are good or bad."

Tombstone then clubbed the Green Goblin upside the head with both fists. After feeling bullets bounce off his armored costume and the impact of Tombstone's fists and Glue's dried glue balls, the Green Goblin was finally knocked out after the combined attacks of all three criminals.

"Well, that went well," Nobody commented.

"Yeah, but it looks like we might have company soon," the Glue commented pointing.

Nobody and Tombstone looked in that direction to see Spider-Man and Arachne swinging towards them.

"We can take 'em," Tombstone said confidently.

"Yeah," Nobody nodded, "But fighting them would allow Osborn to escape. We'll take him back to base. Everyone get close!"

Spider-Man and Arachne prepared to attack as Tombstone and some new villain gathered around Nobody and the unconscious body of the Green Goblin. They then began to vanish from sight.

"NO!" Spider-Man screamed and fired a webline at them, which only hit the rooftop.

They then landed on the roof that Nobody had just left with the rest of the Kingpin's men and their unconscious prisoner. Spider-Man then cursed something under his breath, but Arachne didn't hear him.

"So what do we do now?" Arachne asked.

"We can't do anything until we figure out where they've taken him," Spider-Man answered, "And I have no idea where that is since the Rhino busted up the last base that Fisk was using."

"So we go looking?" Arachne asked.

"No," Spider-Man sighed, "I guess for now we should get back to the tower and inspect the damage and get yelled at by Tony."

"I don't think he'll be yelling at anyone," Arachne commented, "The Goblin put some sort of device on him that shut down his armor."

"Must have been some kind of electromagnetic pulse," Spider-Man commented, "Although I would have thought that he was shielded against that sort of thing."

The two then made their way back to the tower where they found Iron Man managing to pull himself back onto his feet.

"You alright?" Spider-Man asked.

"Fine," Iron Man sighed, "The electromagnetic pulse shut down my systems, and it took a little while to reboot everything."

"Sorry about all this," Spider-Man commented.

"You know, Spider-Man, if your villains are going to keep doing damage to my building, I'm going to start charging you rent," Iron Man commented humorously, "MJ, and your Aunt can stay for free, but I'm charging you rent."

"I'll let you know that I'm usually strapped for cash," Spider-Man answered him.

Iron Man shook his head, "Don't worry about this. The old Avengers insurance policy covers the New Avengers Headquarters. This is nothing, and you've apparently driven the Green Goblin off."

"Actually, we drove him into Fisk's goons," Arachne answered in a defeated tone, "We had to beat off the Enforcers and even then found that three more of Fisk's hired men took out the Goblin before we could capture any of them."

"What about the Enforcers?" Iron Man asked.

"Someone drug them away while we chased after the other group," Spider-Man replied.

"I guess you'll be searching for a way to find Fisk again then, won't you?" Iron Man asked.

Spider-Man nodded, "Osborn has always been a major pain, but I can't just let Fisk kill him. I don't know, I guess it's in my nature to be a good guy."  
"You'll get him," Iron Man answered, "Do you need any help?"

"None that I can get here," Spider-Man sighed, "Unless you have some all-knowing being to deal with that could tell us where Fisk is hiding out."

"Sorry," Iron Man sighed.

**Elsewhere, Much later**

Osborn felt rather groggy when he awoke and was startled to find himself alone in a dark warehouse and chained to the floor. He was still wearing most of his costume, with the exception of his mask being removed.

"Relax, Osborn," a voice spoke from the darkness, "You are still alive, for now."

"Scrier," Osborn answered angrily.

"Good to see that you remember those that you have betrayed," Scrier answered, as he stepped out into what little light that was in the room, "You will now pay the price for that betrayal."

"So you're going to kill me?" Osborn questioned.

"Eventually," Scrier answered with a smile, "But we did learn some lessons from you while you were a loyal member of the Brotherhood of Scriers."

Osborn's eyes widened as Scrier stepped forward and lifted up Osborn's chin.

"You will enjoy a nice long death," Scrier said with a smile.

**To Be Continued…**


	8. Between a rock…

-1All characters appearing in Spider-Man are copyrighted to Marvel Entertainment and Stan Lee. No infringement of these copyrights is intended, and is not authorized by the copyright holder. All original characters are the property of TVfan.

Note: this story is a sequel to my "A New Life" story, and begins a few days after it.

All the King's Men

By TVfan

**Chapter 8: Between a rock…**

**Avengers Tower**

"So how do you suppose we're gonna find where they took Osborn?" Mary Jane asked as Peter leaned over a personal computer that they owned.

Neither of them were in costume at the moment, but Peter had been determined to try and track down where Fisk's men could have taken Osborn.

"When Fisk was arrested, the police obtained a list of warehouses, businesses, and other places that Fisk supposedly owned or frequently used as the Kingpin," Peter answered, "My best bet is that he probably using one of those locations."

"And what if the Scriers took Osborn from Fisk?" Mary Jane asked.

"They've likely got him in some sort facility that Osborn privately owned," Peter answered, "The irony of the situation would be too much for them."

There was a brief silence between them for a moment.

"Besides," Peter then continued, "We won't know that until we've beaten that information out of Fisk."

"And he's just going to give it to us?" Mary Jane asked.

"No, that's why we have to beat it out of him," Peter answered.

"There's gotta be an easier way then that," Mary Jane commented, "Or a smarter way. I may regret this later, but couldn't we ask Felicia for another favor?"

"Oh yeah, that's a great idea," Peter sighed shaking his head, "Go to Felicia and ask her to do something she's already done, while Fisk has Osborn somewhere and doing who knows what. Let's make my life more complicated."

"You know I don't want to do that," Mary Jane answered, "But as much as you say I'm doing well, I think I'm still too inexperienced to do much on my own, and neither of us have any real skill in the sort of detective work it will take to find out where Fisk is hiding."

"It'll be somewhat embarrassing," Peter sighed, "and things are to the point now that we might need help in rescuing Osborn because the Scriers are excellent warriors, despite the fact that I've never picked up any sort of superhuman ability about them."

"What, and you think I, someone who's a novice at all the superheroing can take them while Felicia who has years of experience as the Black Cat can't?" Mary Jane asked.

"Felicia can only manipulate the probability and likelihood of things happening," Peter answered, "Like a gun not working when the crook knows he's got her. It's the whole 'bad-luck' slash 'black cat' type of thing. I don't know who that will work against someone who's choice of weapon is a sword."

Mary Jane thought for a moment and decided that since her powers mirrored her husband's, with the exception of her pheromone powers, that in comparison to Felicia, fighting the Scriers might be too dangerous, but she still couldn't think of a reason why they couldn't at least ask for help in finding out where the Kingpin had Osborn taken.

"If not Felicia, then what about one of the other Avengers?" Mary Jane asked, "Surely at least one of them can help us find out where the Kingpin is hiding."

"I'm beginning to think that we might need to borrow their computer," Peter sighed, "It might have a better shot at getting the list of stuff Fisk is or was involved in then I am now."

There was a moment of silence as Peter stared at the computer screen and then sighed heavily.

"And you know the thing that frustrates me the most is that the person we have to rescue is Norman Osborn," Peter said after a few moments, "Norman OSBORN! The one man who's done more to make my life miserable then anyone else, and we have to rescue him… no matter how much I'd like to see him die."

"It would be easier to just let Fisk have him," Mary Jane commented seriously.

"I know, but with great power…" Peter answered.

"Comes great responsibility," Mary Jane finished, "I know. If we have to rescue him, we'll rescue him. Just don't let this get to you though when he comes back and tries to kill us."

**Fisk's Headquarters**

The Scrier that had been hounding Fisk to find Osborn stood quietly before the large man known as Wilson Fisk, the Kingpin of Crime.

"I trust you have secured Osborn so that he can not escape you," Fisk commented, "I do not want to be embroiled in a repeating gang war over New York with the Green Goblin as my primary opposition."

"You may rest assured, Wilson Fisk, that Norman Osborn will trouble this world no longer," Scrier answered, "We have him well locked away."

"Good," Fisk replied, "I trust our business is concluded then?"

"Yes," Scrier answered, "While you did not kill Norman Osborn, you still managed to provide us with what we wanted, and that is Norman Osborn. The Brotherhood will in fact enjoy killing him themselves more then merely being told he is dead."

"Then we've both gotten what we wanted out of this little bargain, right?" Fisk asked.

"Yes, I suppose so," the Scrier answered, "You did not do things as we would have preferred, but you did produce the desired results. You have served your purpose to the Brotherhood of Scriers well, Wilson Fisk, and such service can produce great rewards."

"Yes, but I prefer the service to be to me," Fisk answered, "I have no interest in following a cult."

"You could learn much that might help you in your future endeavors," the Scrier offered, "and the Brotherhood is willing to give your organization a very good place within for your service to us in apprehending Osborn."

"I was under the impression that my services to your Brotherhood was to pay the debt I owed you for getting me out of jail," Fisk commented.

"They were," the Scrier answered, "But service can bring its own rewards. You've done a good job and Council of Scriers wishes that your men and methods are on hand."

"So you're drafting me?" Fisk demanded, beginning to lose his temper.

"No," the Scrier answered, "If you truly do not wish to be aided by the Brotherhood of Scriers as a member of the Brotherhood the Council will let you go, as you have performed a great service to repay a debt and to bring us our greatest betrayer. It would depress the Council to be without your continued services, but they will not force you to follow them."

"With all due respect to your Brotherhood, I do not wish to join," Fisk answered, "And given that if any minor failure is punishable by death, I have no intention of joining your group in the future."

"You do not like not being in power, I take it then?" the Scrier asked.

"Yes," Fisk answered, "I wish you the best of luck with Osborn."

"Luck is not necessary," the Scrier answered and faded into the shadows.

And with that Fisk was left alone in the warehouse that he had been using as a base. Fisk quietly looked around. The warehouse was functional as a meeting place, but he did not like living there. The problem was that few hotels could accept him. Since he had broken out of jail, he could not register under his own name and there were a lot of people who could recognize his face. He had only been able to use the first hotel as a 'base' as the Scriers had provided the cover necessary to use it. Now he needed to find a way to get himself a new base that was better suited to the Kingpin of Crime.

"Nobody!" Fisk spoke aloud, hoping the teleporter was somewhere in the warehouse.

"Yeah, boss," the black wearing teleporter appeared in front of Fisk.

"I want you to contact my lieutenants and have them arrange for a proper headquarters and meeting place to be established," Kingpin ordered, "The Kingpin of Crime does not operate out of a warehouse, and now that our work for the Scriers is over, I wish to get back to what I originally came here for. It is time to resume the establishment of the Kingpin's realm."

"Of course, sir," Nobody replied and then vanished.

**Unknown Location**

Norman Osborn knew he had had better days. He had so far endured a serious beating at the hands of agents he was sure employed by the Scriers in some fashion if not directly employed by the Scriers. It made him think that double crossing them after the failure of the Gathering of Five was not a smart move, as it could end in his death.

"So how are you holding up?" a Scrier asked humorously at him as he came in from another room.

Osborn managed to look up and saw that it wasn't the lead Scrier as this one was much shorter.

"If you're going to kill me, why don't you get it over with?" Osborn challenged the Scrier.

"And let the goblin formula in your veins allow you to walk away?" the Scrier answered.

Osborn gasped in surprise. He had not told anyone of the goblin formula's ability to allow him to survive mortal injuries. It had saved him after he was impaled on his own glider in his battle with Spider-Man after killing Gwen Stacy, and because of that, he felt he could survive things that would normally kill others, but that one incident was his only major test of the goblin formula, so he wasn't one hundred percent sure how well it would work.

"You didn't think we knew about that did you?" the short Scrier smiled, "We know many things Norman Osborn, and if you had been more loyal you might have learned that."

"I prefer to be successful and leader," Osborn answered, "Not some cog in someone else's organization."

"And it is that arrogance that will cost you, Norman Osborn," the short Scrier smiled again, "Making your death slow is partially our own plan from what we have learned from you. The other part is the knowledge that the goblin formula allows you to heal from generally fatal injuries."

"How?" Osborn finally managed to demand.

"When you revealed to us that you were the Green Goblin we performed a background check and discovered that you had been in a rather intensive battle against Spider-Man in which you had been impaled by your own glider," the short Scrier answered, "And yet you sit before the Brotherhood today. You have to have some means of defying death and given the back story you gave us, the only conclusion that we could draw is that the goblin formula that gave you your powers also provided you with an unmeasured ability to heal from injuries, including in the case of your glider, mortal ones."

"Looks like we both underestimated each other," Osborn commented, trying to sound confident, despite the fact that he had no idea how to escape from the Scriers, "You thinking I would be loyal and me for thinking you would look into my past."

"Yes," the short Scrier answered as he produced a set of brass knuckles from inside his robes, "but unlike you, the Brotherhood of Scriers will never die because of its mistakes."

Osborn didn't even try to answer as the short Scrier threw a punch at his face, knocking him out.

**Avengers Tower**

"I'd like to thank you for letting me borrow the official computer for this," Peter spoke to Tony as he took a seat at the main super computer that was at the center of the Avenger's new nerve center.

"You and your wife at present have access to it all the time, there's no need for you to ask me if you can use it," Tony replied.

"It belongs to your company," Peter replied.

"That hasn't stopped you before," Tony commented.

"What?" Peter asked back trying to sound innocent.

"For starters, how about the time that and your wife sucked the Other into a series of vacuum tubes that I have recently sold to Saudi Arabia to help them deal with sandstorms," Tony commented, "and much more recently there is the time where you used one of the other computer labs, specifically the mapping labs so a friend of yours, who somehow managed to avoid all of the Stark Towers alarm systems, could show you where the Kingpin was in a hotel."

Peter looked down, trying not to look so guilty.

"She didn't take anything," Peter finally said after a few moments.

"I trust you when you say that, and I can fully understand why you asked for her help with your present situation," Tony replied, "But you are an Avenger now. We try to be friendly with one another. These labs, while legally owned by Stark Enterprises, are the Avenger's labs, which means any Avenger, reserve or active can use them at any time. It also means that your friends and allies do not need to break in to get in."

"So I can tell her to just tap on a window?" Peter asked.

"I would prefer that she use the guest entrances on the roof for all superhumans or the 'Avenging elevator' from the ground floor up," Tony answered, "but then, you and Arachne seem to like using the windows as a means of entrance and exit, so whatever works."

Tony then turned to leave Peter to his research and then turned back.

"There is one thing you can do for me," Tony commented.

"What's that?" Peter asked.

"Do you have her phone number?" Tony asked with a mischievous smile.

Elsewhere, Mary Jane sighed as she tried to focus on studying the script that she had picked up a few days before. She still couldn't get over the fact that the main female character seemed to be too young for the role, but figured that the director could explain that, or maybe they intended to put whoever played that part in a lot of makeup for the show. Fortunately, though, that appeared the only thing 'weird' with the play.

"Do you like the play, Mary Jane?" Aunt May asked from another chair where she was seated.

"Oh, with the play the only thing that worries me is what they will do with the main female character, and even that isn't bad," Mary Jane commented, "It just seems to me that she's younger then a mother of a man off in war would be, but I don't suppose I can get an answer to that when I audition."

"I certainly can't answer that question," Aunt May said with a slight smile, "And how are you and Peter coming along?"

"In terms of finding where the Kingpin's gone to now?" Mary Jane sighed, "Peter's using the Avengers' computers now, which are apparently much better then personal home computers, which means they're probably like NASA computers or are really high speed computers, I don't know. He's hoping to find out the areas that Fisk has had business in over the years as the Kingpin, and once he does, we'll end up visiting each site, and he hopes we'll get lucky."

"And you'll stop this nasty Kingpin character?" Aunt May asked.

"More like rescue Norman Osborn from certain death," Mary Jane sighed, "Which has really done a number on Peter's temper and I can't really say I blame him. The guy is a maniac."

"I do not disagree," Aunt May commented.

"I mean, he killed Gwen, and granted if he hadn't done that, I wouldn't be Mrs. Parker right now, but still, Gwen was a friend of mine," Mary Jane answered, "The fact that we will have to rescue the man who murdered one of my best friends here, as tried to kill me, and kidnapped you twice is something that I really don't want to dwell on."

"He is a most horrid man," Aunt May commented.

"But, in the larger scope of things, having his throat slit by some cult because he didn't conquer the world the way they wanted him to isn't quite the right way for him to be punished," Mary Jane commented, "He ought to be in some prison somewhere where he can endlessly think of what he's done and see all the lives he's destroyed."

"That would be the humane thing to do," Aunt May commented.

There was a brief silence for a moment before Aunt May spoke again.

"What confuses me is why these bad men fight with one another, even with this Kingpin and his 'mafia'," Aunt May spoke, "None of them seem to get along."

"I think that's one of the things no one will ever really know," Mary Jane commented, "People like power and they rarely like to share. I think its greed. One wants all of the power and money, and so do the others, hence the fighting."

Aunt May was about to answer when Peter suddenly appeared holding a long sheet of paper in his hand.

"Did you find what you needed?" Mary Jane asked putting down her script.

Peter held up the long piece of paper that he had with him.

"This has a list of every building and or business that Fisk owned while he was free," Peter answered, "The Avengers computer is great. It not only lists which ones Fisk owned, but also which ones that Fisk might kept control of after he was put in jail. Some are marked as 'seized' by the police, some are marked as 'sold', and a few are even marked as 'closed'."

"So, I guess it's off to go find the fatman now?" Mary Jane asked.

Peter chuckled thinking of Fisk, "Good one."

**Fisk's Headquarters**

Fisk had shuffled several crates around to function as benches for his main lieutenants and officials of his organization as they arrived and either sat down on one of them, or stood near them. As they all arrived, Fisk began speaking.

"You've all done very well in working to rebuild what Osborn worked behind the scenes to take from us," Fisk spoke, "and for that, I thank you."

"When people say 'Kingpin' they don't think of the Owl," one of his lieutenants commented.

Fisk smiled, "And now the mighty Scriers have what they want in the person of Norman Osborn, so their involvement in my organization is finished."

Fisk watched as every man there visibly sighed with relief.

"With the Scrier's involvement in my organization over we can now take our next step in reassuming the rank of Kingpin," Fisk spoke in an authoritative voice, "The most important thing as that we make sure that the smaller old mafia families resume paying their annual tribute to the 'Kingpin'."

"I have small groups that can handle that," one lieutenant spoke up, "We may need the Enforcers from time to time, but we can handle the bulk of the work in that regard."

"Very good," Fisk nodded, "That will insure that we will be able to better react to Fortunato and Jimmy Six when they get their act together and of course, when Hammerhead is healthy enough to regain control of his organization."

Fisk then paused for a moment before continuing.

"Meanwhile," Fisk continued, "The intervention of Spider-Man and his partner, and Osborn's own attempts to unseat me have resulted in this warehouse being used as a temporary sanctuary while we worked with the Scriers. Since they are no longer involved and Spider-Man likely thinks he can still stop me, it is time to find a more appropriate base of operations for my organization. And it will be imperative that everyone be involved in this operation."

**Over Manhattan**

"This warehouse in the Bronx is the first place that we're checking?" Arachne asked as she and Spider-Man swung through the New York skyline.

"It's the first place on the list of buildings or businesses that Fisk didn't lose after being arrested," Spider-Man replied, "Besides, its also the northern most location. We can then make a steady search south to check all of the Kingpin's holdings."

The two then landed on the side of an apartment building across the street from the warehouse on the list that Spider-Man now had folded up and on the utility belt he wore under his costume. Both looked down on the roof of the warehouse and saw there was a small skylight in the roof of the warehouse.

"I don't see any guards," Arachne commented.

"This might be an empty one," Spider-Man commented, "As he's trying to retake his lost power, I doubt he'd spread out to every… wait a minute. Who do I see coming around the corner?"

Arachne then looked over at a small raised shack on top of the warehouse to see a man dressed in black and wearing a trench coat appear from behind it.

"It's that teleported guy that attacked us when Fisk first showed up!" Arachne spoke.

"And I don't think he's seen us yet," Spider-Man commented.

"Which means we got lucky," Arachne spoke with a smile, "We can go in there, take out the Kingpin and figure out where he has Osborn."

"And take him to jail," Spider-Man nodded, "Let's go."

Spider-Man leaped into the air with Arachne following close behind him. They only had to cross one street and the warehouse was shorter then the apartment building that they had earlier landed on, so they didn't use their organic web shooters. Their hope of getting the drop on Nobody was dashed when he looked up to see both heroes coming down toward him. He then vanished from sight as they landed on the roof of the warehouse.

"So much for easy," Arachne grumbled.

"Remember to react extra quick when your spider-sense starts to buzz," Spider-Man instructed, "He has a habit of disappearing before anyone can counterattack if you give him time to fire his weapons."

Arachne had barely nodded when her spider-sense buzzed inside her head urgently. She instinctively leaped to avoid a spray of bullets fired from a pair of Uzis. Spider-Man also dodged an the pair of them fired weblines at Nobody as they dodged, hoping to grab the teleporter's weapons. Nobody cursed just as he fired and before the weblines reached him, he teleported away.

"Come on you coward!" Spider-Man tried to challenge him, "Come out here and fight fair!"

"Fight fair?" came Nobody's voice from behind him, "How about the two of you stand still for longer then three seconds and then we'll call it fair."

Nobody then fired at Spider-Man, who only dropped down and delivered a kick to Nobody's midsection, knocking him off the roof of the warehouse. When Spider-Man went to catch him in webbing, the webbed hero found that Nobody had already teleported to safety. He reappeared on the opposite end of the roof and fired at Arachne. He cursed when the heroine, like her partner easily avoided the bullets he had fired.

"I think he's changed tactics on us," Arachne commented as he moved closer to Spider-Man after diving away from Nobody's line of fire, "He isn't coming close."

"Then it's time we changed tactics," Spider-Man answered, "He can't fire at both of us once, at least not effectively."

"You're not going to use me as bait are you?" Arachne asked.

"We're both using each other as bait," Spider-Man explained, "If he attacks me, I'll dodge, and you attack him while he's distracted. If he attacks you, you dodge, and I'll attack him while he's distracted."

"How about I attack both of you while you're distracted?" Nobody asked as he appeared and fired at both Spider-Man and Arachne.

Both heroes leaped away before Nobody had actually fired. As he landed in a roll, Spider-Man decided to bring his most potent weapon to the fight.

"Man, I don't know why you don't give up!" Spider-Man taunted, "With aim like that, I'm surprised you could even hit the broad side of a building, let alone a spider."

Nobody then appeared right in front of him and aimed both Uzis at him.

"My aim is perfect," Nobody growled, "It is my target that is imperfect."

Nobody fired, but again, Spider-Man was easily able to avoid being hit, thanks to his spider-sense. Nobody, however, wasn't so lucky. As he continued trying to hit Spider-Man, Arachne came up behind him and clubbed him upside the head with both fists, knocking the teleporter out instantly. He fell to Arachne's feet and dropped his weapons.

"So much for 'Nobody'," Arachne commented as she then picked up Nobody's Uzis and smashed them against the roof the warehouse roof.

Spider-Man meanwhile began removing Nobody's trench coat.

"You're not stripping him are you?" Arachne asked.

"Just enough to see if he is using a device of some sort to teleport or if he is a mutant," Spider-Man answered, "If he's using a device, we can insure that he can not escape the police."

"And if he's a mutant?" Arachne asked.

"Then we're probably stuck, but without his guns, he won't be a problem in the future," Spider-Man shrugged.

Spider-Man removed Nobody's trench coat to reveal all of Nobody's black bodysuit. He quickly found a strange silver device, which looked like a really thin backpack, on his back. There was a small cord that ran along Nobody's arms and went to his hands. Spider-Man assumed that this was some sort of pressure sensor.

"See, it's technological," Spider-Man answered and removed the silver device from Nobody's back.

Arachne then watched as the device was smashed against the roof, and then began to web up Nobody so that he couldn't escape. They left him dangling from the ledge of the roof, but low enough so that the police wouldn't need a ladder to cut him down.

"Now to deal with the main even," Spider-Man announced as he and Arachne then moved toward the skylight.

As they looked in they found that Fisk was still talking with a large number of people who looked like they had to be Fisk's lieutenants.

"Look's like we'll be able to take out all of Fisk's organization in this," Arachne commented, as she and Spider-Man carefully removed the windows from the skylight.

"Must be our lucky day," Spider-Man smiled, although Arachne couldn't see that through his mask.

Once they removed the window, Arachne and Spider-Man then jumped down and surprised all of Fisk's lieutenants as they landed. Most quickly backed off quickly and in surprise, but to Spider-Man's surprise Fisk did not move.

"And you see, gentlemen, this is why a new headquarters for the Kingpin must be found," Fisk spoke, "Although if Spider-Man and his partner are killed, then the mission to find a new base will not be as serious."

All of the Kingpin's lieutenants then pulled out whatever weapon they had and began to aim their weapons at Spider-Man and Arachne.

"You know, it would be a lot easier if you all just gave yourselves up," Spider-Man offered, "I mean, you couldn't hear Nobody shooting at us, apparently, so what makes you think you can beat us?"

Spider-Man didn't get much of an answer, other then one of Fisk's lieutenants taking a series of shots at Spider-Man and Arachne. Both heroes easily dodged the attack, and landed on a series of crates above the gathered lieutenants.

"I guess we gotta do this the hard way," Spider-Man commented and fired a couple of weblines, grabbing the armaments of two of Fisk's lieutenants and pulling them away and insuring that the would be destroyed.

Fisk meanwhile, began to move away while the rest of Fisk's lieutenants aimed their weapons at where Spider-Man and Arachne landed.

"We can't let Fisk escape!" Spider-Man announced, motioning to where Fisk was moving as they dodged another series of shots fired at them.

"I'll deal with these guys," Arachne answered, "You capture Fisk."

Arachne then jumped down and landed a kick against one of Fisk's lieutenants and fired a series of weblines, wrapping up two more of Fisk's lieutenants. Spider-Man, meanwhile, leaped over the other assistants and landed in front of Fisk.

"And where do you think you're going?" Spider-Man asked, "Don't you know you're supposed to stay here until I've webbed you up? Did I forget to send you the memo?"

"I must have missed it after," Fisk commented, "I believe it said I need to beat you senseless?"

Fisk then lunged at Spider-Man, intending to land a powerful punch against him. Spider-Man, however, easily dodged the attack and landed behind him and delivered a kick that sent Fisk colliding with a nearby crate.

"You're going to have to be a little faster if you're going to beat me senseless," Spider-Man commented.

"What makes you think I'm alone?" Fisk asked and then whistled through his fingers.

Spider-Man watched for a moment as there came a series of load thumps as people were trying to make their way through the maze of crates in the warehouse. After a short while the Enforcers came around a corner of crates and skidded to a halt behind Fisk.

"What you guys are here too?" Spider-Man asked, "And you didn't hear Nobody's shooting?"

"We were playin' cards," Ox answered, "And the roof on this building is thick."

"Oh sure," Spider-Man taunted, "Blame the roof, that always works."

Spider-Man then ducked down and caught Ox with his feet and then threw Ox toward the far wall. The rest of the Enforcers were quick to respond.

"You will find, Spider-Man that I am quite prepared for most things that come my way," Fisk commented as Fancy Dan fired a series of shots, which Spider-Man dodged, but that took him directly into Montana's whip.

The whip was strong around Spider-Man's neck and forced him to bend over and try to pull it off of him.

"And while I have from time to time enjoyed our little chats," Fisk continued, "I will not allow them to continue now."

"Too… bad…" Spider-Man choked out and brought a flying kick against Fisk and pulled on Montana's whip.

The kick sent Fisk flying into Fancy Dan, who was trying to get a clear shot so that he didn't hit Montana or Ox, and now Fisk was laying on top of Fancy Dan. Spider-Man, meanwhile, pulled on the whip so that it wasn't so tight around him. As he did so, his spider-sense picked up charging footprints, and he looked over his shoulder to see the Ox charging toward him. He barely managed to avoid taking a powerful punch from the large criminal, who instead punched Montana. That blow freed Spider-Man from being strangled. Spider-Man then tossed the whip away, where Montana couldn't get his hands on it.

"There, now that the game of strangle the spider is over," Spider-Man commented, "let's play a different game."

Spider-Man then wrapped the Ox in webbing and began to spin him around like an Olympic discuss thrower and launched the enforcer across the warehouse. Montana and Fancy Dan looked up as they heard Ox land somewhere else in the warehouse. They were further surprised when Arachne landed gracefully on a stack of crates behind them.

"Are you boy's playing nice?" Arachne asked in a teasing voice.

"I am," Spider-Man retorted, "They are not."

"How did you escape?" Fisk demanded.

"Your gangsters are armed with guns, while I can since their bullets coming," Arachne smirked, "This is where you need superhuman people, not glorified mob-men. All your guys are all webbed up for the time being."

Fisk grumbled.

"Bullseye and Glue are taking care of watching out for Jimmy Six and Fortunato," Fancy Dan commented, "And Tombstone returned to his own hood. It would take time to get them here."

Fisk growled again, "And most of my other men are supporting them. Hold them off!"

Fisk then turned an ran, hating to be running for an enemy, but if he was caught, he could be implicated in the murder of Silvermane and several other gang leaders and members as well is as in the gang war against the Maggia. If found guilty, he could face an even longer period of time in jail to what he was already supposed to serve. Montana, without his whip, was largely useless and followed after him.

"You're running?" Spider-Man asked, "Well that's no fun."

The webbed hero then leaped faster then Fancy Dan could aim and landed right in front of Fisk and Montana. Spider-Man then leaped onto Fisk's shoulders and threw the mobster into a pile of nearby crates. He then landed a powerful punch against Montana, knocking the western themed enforcer out.

"It's much more fun this way," Spider-Man commented with a smirk beneath his mask.

Fancy Dan, meanwhile forgot about Spider-Man and fired a few shots at his partner. Arachne, like Spider-Man, was easily warned of the incoming bullets and quickly dodged them. As she did so, she fired out a series of weblines aimed at grabbing Fancy Dan's weapons. In this she was successful, and then landed right behind the man.

"Care to try again?" Arachne asked in a teasing voice as she crushed Fancy Dan's guns in her hands.

"You…" Fancy Dan began to curse.

"There's no need for that sort of language," Arachne answered and delivered a powerful blow to the jaw that knocked him out.

That blow sent Fancy Dan flying, and Arachne moved to follow her partner and make sure Fisk didn't escape. Fisk, meanwhile, got up slowly from the throw that he had endured at Spider-Man's hands. He was a tough man, but unlike Spider-Man, he was not super powered and it took him a little while to shrug off blows.

"Give up yet?" Spider-Man asked.

"You have yet to experience the worst that I can do," Fisk growled and jumped forward.

Fisk faked an overhand blow, which Spider-Man ducked down and back from, and then while he was still moving backward, Fisk moved forward and landed a powerful uppercut to Spider-Man's jaw. That blow sent the webbed hero staggering back. Fisk then backhanded him with his massive fists before Spider-Man could recover and counterattack, which knocked Spider-Man to the ground.

"You see, Spider-Man, I am not some weakling who can not last long in a fight with you costumed maniacs," Fisk spoke confidently, "My body is mostly muscle and here is actually very little fat in my body mass."

"Shoulda played football then," Spider-Man shot back, "You could have made lots of money and all of it would have been legal. Then you wouldn't be a pain in my butt."

"There is no power in football," Fisk answered, "I prefer something where I am directly making money."

Spider-Man leaped back and landed on a crate, and from there he fired a series of weblines in an attempt to get Fisk tangled up in the weblines. The attempt missed, but it allowed Spider-Man the time to leap down and land a kick Fisk's chest, knocking the gangster down.

"But you wouldn't be getting ready to go to jail if you played football," Spider-Man pointed out as he stood over Fisk.

"Why you…" Fisk's growl was cut short by a 'thwip' noise and the sudden pressure of restrictive webbing holding him down.

Fisk looked up to see Arachne crouching on another set of crates above him.

"I webbed you up twice as thick," Arachne smirked, "No way you can get away."

"We'll see about that," Fisk growled, and struggled, but in vain.

After a few moments, Fisk finally fell back against the floor of the warehouse, exhausted.

"Had enough?" Spider-Man asked.

Fisk only growled.

"Now, before we leave you here to wallow in you 'power' while you wait for the police," Spider-Man began, "We have a few questions for you."

Fisk only clenched his teeth and said nothing.

"Where is Norman Osborn?" Spider-Man asked.

"What?" Fisk asked back, surprised.

"You heard him," Arachne spoke up, "Where is Norman Osborn?"

"What do you want with Norman Osborn?" Fisk asked back.

"To stop you," Spider-Man explained, "I thought they taught you this in super villain school. The good guy always foils the bad guy's plot."

Fisk actually began to laugh a little, despite the fact that he was certainly going to be arrested again.

"Kidnapping Osborn was never part of MY agenda," Fisk answered, "My men may have been used, but that was never MY agenda. That, my ignorant hero, was the Scrier's agenda."

"So you just handed him over to the Scriers then?" Spider-Man asked.

"Precisely," Fisk answered, "All it was paying off a debt that I owed their organization."

"So where did the Scrier's take him?" Arachne asked.

"What is your interest in Osborn anyway?" Fisk asked back, "All he is, is another crook that will attack you again and again. Why do you care whether or not he lives or dies?"

"Because with him gone, your position over New York crime is much better," Spider-Man answered, "You think I don't know, or can at least guess how many petty thugs pay you tribute and work for you? If Osborn is killed, those that follow him are likely to follow you as you are the only other crime boss that has either been directly attacked by, and escaped or defeated, or challenged a costumed hero. You have the reputation that those people will find attractive and you have the know how to make it work. And I'm going to tell you here and now, that I'm not going to allow that. I can not allow one man to gain the strength needed to take over all of New York's crime."

"Equal opportunity for all criminals?" Fisk asked, "I might actually like you, Spider-Man."

"It's easier to stop you all if you're divided," Spider-Man answered back firmly, "I'd really prefer it if all crime was removed permanently, but I'll never be that lucky. So I'll settle for manageable."

Fisk didn't answer.

"So where did the Scrier's take Osborn?" Arachne asked him, sounding impatient, "You're going to go to jail anyway, and if you don't care about Osborn, why should it matter to you if we go after him?"

"Perhaps you are right," Fisk said with a smile, secretly hoping that the Scriers would kill these two, "I am probably on my way back to prison."

"Well? Do you know where they took Osborn or not?" Spider-Man asked, himself beginning to become frustrated with Fisk's actions and answers, wondering why the heroes in his childhood comics never had to deal with people like this.

"They told me where their main offices were," Fisk answered, "At least in New York anyway. If Osborn is still alive and in the Scrier's hands, he is in that location. Which is a warehouse in the northernmost part of the Bronx and on the waterfront. If he is not there, then you were too late to save him or they took him back to wherever their main temple is."

"Thank you for your cooperation," Spider-Man sighed and fired a webline to swing up to the skylight and out of the warehouse.

Arachne quickly followed and the two landed on the roof of the warehouse with ease.

"Did he tell the truth?" Arachne asked as they landed.

"If he learned anything about the Scriers during their partnership, I would say so," Spider-Man answered, "They're all expert martial artists and as their little escapade with John Jameson showed, they are also skilled in the mystic arts. Fisk, if he learned anything about them, was probably hoping that we charge in and get killed."

"Killed?" Arachne asked sounding surprised.

"Yeah, the from what Ben told me when we came back to New York, he had some pretty big battles with the Scriers," Spider-Man nodded, "but he won them all, or at least he told me he won."

"Well, this ought to be interesting," Arachne commented, but still sounding nervous, "I don't suppose you'd get extra help to make sure that they can't waste us?"

"Nah, we'll be fine," Spider-Man answered as he pulled a cellphone out from the utility belt that he wore under his costume, "They're better then Fisk's mobsters, but they can't be much better."

"Okay," Arachne sighed, "You're at least going to let the police know where to pick up these guys?"

"Pretty much," Spider-Man nodded, "And then, the real fun begins."

**To Be Continued…**


	9. …and a Hard Place

All characters appearing in Spider-Man are copyrighted to Marvel Entertainment and Stan Lee. No infringement of these copyrights is intended, and is not authorized by the copyright holder. All original characters are the property of TVfan.

Note: this story is a sequel to my "A New Life" story, and begins a few days after it.

All the King's Men

By TVfan

**Chapter 9: …and a Hard Place**

**Manhattan**

"Man look at this mess," one police officer commented as he and several officers made their way through a warehouse.

There were a few strands of webbing laying around, which gave the policemen an indication as to who had been there earlier, and what surprised them more was that there were several known organized mafia people either laying on the ground or sitting against crates and all of them were webbed up.

"Looks like the arachnids grabbed the Kingpin's entire organization," another policeman replied, "How many of these guys have known warrants on them?"

"Probably all of them," the first policeman told him, "But we can't be sure till we get them down to the station for interrogation."

They were then surprised by a scream coming from elsewhere in the warehouse. The two men turned and ran to the site of the scream and found that it was a female officer, who was apparently surprised, by the webbed up form of Wilson Fisk, himself.

"Well, I'll be," the second police officer gasped.

"I just found him sitting here," the policewoman informed them.

"If you are through gawking at me, I would like to make a statement," Fisk spoke in a calm manner, knowing full well that he would soon be back in the jail cell that the Scriers had broken him out of.

"You want to make a statement here?" the first policeman asked.

"You are no doubt curious as to why I am here?" Fisk asked.

"We know the why," the policewoman replied, "You broke out of jail, and started some gang war here."

"I did nothing of the sort," Fisk replied, "That is what I wish to explain."

"We were told about the attack on Rikers Island," the first policeman said pointedly, "You broke out of jail."

"My dear officer of the law, I did not organize the breakout," Fisk responded, "Neither did I ask for it. I was content to serve my time."

"What are you saying?" the policewoman asked.

Fisk sighed, "I'm saying that I was abducted from my cell on Rikers Island. I do not know who they were then and I do not know who they are now. They then attempted to use decent businessmen as part of their plan to gain control of crime in Manhattan."

"You're saying you were set up?" the second policeman asked.

"In a manner of speaking," Fisk answered, "Tell me you do not find that surprising when we live in a world where people can walk on walls and shoot webs from their wrists."

"Can you care to explain what all the webbing around here is about?" the second policeman questioned.

"I would have thought that part was obvious," Fisk replied.

"Don't get smart with me," the second policeman growled, "If you and your men here were all prisoners, why are you all webbed up? And why didn't you turn yourself in?"

"I thought that was what I was doing now?" Fisk asked.

"After you've been webbed up," the policewoman commented, "Why didn't you turn yourself in when you got away from these 'kidnappers' of yours."

"Unfortunately, my 'men' and myself did not escape our captors until Spider-Man and his partner arrived," Fisk answered, "They webbed me because of my past altercations with Spider-Man and didn't believe I would turn myself in."

"I have a hard time believing it, and I can see it," the first policeman commented.

**Elsewhere**

Spider-Man and Arachne slowly made their way north through the streets of Manhattan as they moved to the area where the Scriers had their main office. The fact that they were 'rescuing' Norman Osborn was still frustrating for them, but for the sake of keeping crime in New York under control kept them going.

"You sure we don't need extra help?" Arachne asked as they landed on the top of a roof, "You said these Scriers are practically ninjas. Shouldn't we get someone who knows martial arts?"

"I'm not going to say it will be a cakewalk, but we should be fine," Spider-Man shrugged, "Ben was never killed by them, and he had to fight them on his own. I've got the best looking partner I've ever had."

"Our looks won't matter if they kill us," Arachne pointed out.

"I've never been beat by ninjas," Spider-Man answered, "At least not in anyway that I can remember. Even with all their training, the Scriers can not overcome our spider-sense."

"Well the whole thing makes me nervous," Arachne responded, "I mean, gunmen and even to a degree the Enforcers aren't all that dangerous, and even in dealing with guys like the Rhino, the Hobgoblin, the Green Goblin, we had them outnumbered with two of us and one of them. But these Scriers are likely to be well trained in combat, which gives them an advantage over the mob gunmen, including the Enforcers. They also seemed to me to be fairly intelligent, which gives them a leg up on the Rhino. There's also likely to be a large number of them, which means the advantage we had over the Hobgoblin and the Green Goblin will be gone."

"You really are nervous about this aren't you?" Spider-Man commented.

"Despite all your encouragement, it will be awhile before I'm comfortable with all the superhero stuff," Arachne answered, "I'm getting used to it, but I just don't feel I'm ready to deal with a group of evil ninja's."

"There is nothing to worry about," Spider-Man answered, "We are far stronger then any individual Scrier and with our powers are also far faster and we can sense them coming, and with touch of webbing here and there we can keep them at a distance."

"Well, I still think we ought to get help," Arachne argued, "Even if our powers do compensate for their training, that doesn't change the fact that we can be hurt."

"It would be appropriate punishment for what we have to do," Spider-Man sighed.

Arachne blinked as concern came over her face.

"This is about the fact that we're saving Osborn, isn't it?" Arachne asked.

"The man has done more to ruin my life then anyone else," Spider-Man sighed, "He isn't the most dangerous opponent I've ever faced. I'd give that to Venom or Carnage, but neither of them has ever done anything to really ruin my life. Kasady was always insane and could never put together a plan coherent enough to consider going after someone I cared about. Brock, when he was Venom, had a strange sense of honor, like he thought he was the victim in our interactions, which meant that he wouldn't intentionally threaten you or Aunt May, but Osborn… Osborn wouldn't hesitate to go after you."

"I know," Arachne sighed, "But it's as you said. If the Scriers kill Osborn, that will give Fisk or some other criminal a shot at causing more trouble later. Believe me, I don't like this anymore then you do."

"Well, at least Fisk will be in jail for the rest of his original sentence," Spider-Man sighed and prepared to continue on their way.

Spider-Man was just about to fire off a webline when his spider-sense went off and he quickly cart wheeled away from the spot. As he left that spot two yellowish balls of goop landed where Spider-Man with an audible splat which made Arachne look over. As she looked over she saw a man seemingly made out of the same yellow goop as the balls that he had thrown at the spot where Spider-Man had been standing.

"Who the heck are you?" Arachne demanded.

The man's legs seemed to change in texture. When Arachne first saw him, he looked like he was made up of wet glue of a yellowish color and was nearly transparent. Now, at least his legs looked like they were made of dried glue. He then leaped at Arachne in an attempt to kick her off the top of the building. She hopped aside at the last moment and began trying to web him up to hold him still.

"I believe you were asked a question," Spider-Man quipped as he moved to stand by Arachne, surprised more then anything else by this strange attacker.

"I am Glue," the attacker growled, "and I am going to make you pay."

"Pay for what?" Spider-Man asked.

"For what you did to Fisk," Glue growled, and then seemingly turned back into a more liquid-like form and moved out from between Arachne's strands of webbing, "You won't get away with sending him back to prison."

Glue then threw a pair of 'glue balls' at Arachne and Spider-Man. Both heroes avoided the projectiles easily, but they soon found that they would have good reason to avoid any further glue balls as the two that Glue had already thrown did dent the air conditioning unit for the building that they were on.

"Great another of the Kingpin's lackeys," Arachne grumbled, "I would have thought we got them all at that warehouse."

"I'd think he's a rather lame one at that," Spider-Man commented, "Does the Trapster know you've stolen his gig?"

"Trapster?" Glue asked back as he threw more glue balls at his opponents, "Trapster needs weapons to do what I do. I do not."

"I don't even want to know how you ended up like this," Arachne commented and fired a webline at Glue's chest, hoping to grab him and then throw him against something.

To Arachne's surprise, her webs actually got stuck in Glue's chest without causing Glue the least bit of discomfort. Glue then grabbed the webline pulled Arachne close to him.

"Now for your partner," Glue smiled as he sunk Arachne's fists into his chest and then seemed to dry his glue-like body around them.

Glue then moved around, and Arachne found herself unable to get her fists free and was forced to move with Glue. Unfortunately for Glue, Spider-Man did not stay still while he 'trapped' Arachne. Spider-Man had leaped to the edge of the building, and then ran along the side of the building. By the time Glue had trapped Arachne, Spider-Man had moved behind him and landed a kick against the 'dried' part of Glue's body.

Glue screamed with pain as Spider-Man landed his kick and fell forward. The kick was powerful and the section of his body that he had dried practically exploded as Spider-Man landed his kick. He wasn't helped by Arachne's efforts to free her fists as she kept trying to pull away from him with all of her strength. As Glue broke apart, Arachne's efforts ended up making her fall on her own rear as she didn't expect the sudden loss of Glue's hold on her fists. Glue's fate, however, was not as good. His chest and torso had been completely destroyed while his head, arms, and legs landed on the roof of the building and lay still for a few moments.

"Well that was surprising," Spider-Man commented in surprise that Glue had practically exploded and broke into pieces.

"I think he's still alive," Arachne said sounding nervous.

That made Spider-Man look down and much to his surprise, Arachne was right. While Glue's dried chest fragments weren't doing anything, and his arms and legs visibly appeared to be drying, the head looked as though nothing was happening to it, and that it was still breathing.

"Okay now that is weird," Spider-Man commented.

"No weirder then human beings who can do things that only arachnids and insects can do," Glue answered defiantly.

"How are you alive?" Spider-Man asked sounding somewhat concerned, "I mean, your chest practically exploded. Not necessarily what I wanted, but it exploded, and people tend to die when their chests explode."

"I am not a person," Glue answered, "That much should be obvious."

"So what are you?" Arachne asked, "An alien?"

"No," Glue answered, "I am an accident. I was once human, and had been experimenting with glue to try and create an adhesive substance that would work better then even welding and could withstand being wet."

"So let me guess, the vat you were using exploded you and covered you in the chemicals you were using?" Spider-Man commented.

"Yes," Glue answered, "And several of those chemicals were rather experimental in nature and would not be approved of in most other scientific experiments under the same conditions that I was operating under. To my surprise, however, those chemicals began bonding with me and giving me the properties of the glues I was experimenting with."

"So what made you join up with Fisk?" Arachne asked, somewhat surprised that their 'attacker' was now cooperating with them so easily.

"He had been funding my experiments from the beginning," Glue answered, "I was a cover man for his organization, giving him the cover of a genuine philanthropist. After the accident, my place in his organization merely changed."

"And all that's left of you now is a head," Spider-Man commented.

"Yes," Glue answered, "and one of the reasons why I am thankful that the accident made it impossible for me to really be killed through physical combat. What are you going to do with me now?"

"I don't know," Spider-Man commented, "Your attack and your actions now are rather weird and not entirely something I've ever experienced in dealing with supervillains. They generally threaten to come back at me later."

"Most other villains you've faced have not been reduced to only their head," Glue answered, "And even if I did escape, Fisk, when he is released would kill me for my failure."

"I guess we can find some way of getting you into police custody or something," Spider-Man sighed, still surprised by the whole turn of events involving the villain they'd just defeated.

The process of getting a policeman there and handing over Glue's head took almost half an hour, and getting the officer to get over the fact that the head was a living and cooperative being took about fifteen minutes. By the time that Arachne and Spider-Man began to begin heading toward where the Scriers were, they had lost a fair amount of time.

"That whole thing was weird," Arachne commented as their travel carried them over into the Bronx.

"You're telling me," Spider-Man replied, "You're telling me."

**The Scrier's Headquarters**

"You know, revenge is never the answer," Osborn choked out as a pair of Scriers attached straps to his wrists that had wires running to them.

The main Scrier smiled in rather amused laughter, "This from the man who has spent the better part of his life trying to gain vengeance against a man who dresses up as a spider?"

"Spider-Man was always in the way of my operations," Osborn answered, "and his actions cost me everything. I am fully vindicated for wanting vengeance against him."

"Your betrayal of the Brotherhood of Scriers is just as important to us as Spider-Man's defeating your plans to build a criminal empire," the Scrier responded, "You and Spider-Man were never on the same side, so you should have expected him to oppose you. You, however were a member of the Brotherhood of Scriers, and you sent the police after us, which was an act of betrayal. That was treason, an offense that nation-states execute people for."

"I was your leader," Osborn answered trying to talk his way out of being killed, "You can not execute your leader."

"You were only the leader of the New York offices of the Brotherhood of Scriers, Osborn," Scrier answered, "Our organization is far larger then you knew then and definitely larger then you know now."

"You mean you aren't the only group of Scriers?" Osborn asked.

"Yes," Scrier smiled, "And when you betrayed the New York branch, you betrayed the entire Brotherhood, and the Scrier Prime then decided that you should be punished."

The main Scrier then flipped a switch that he was standing near and smiled as Osborn screamed with pain as electricity flowed through his body. The voltage was kept low enough that it wouldn't kill him, at least not quickly, and would put Osborn through incredible pain.

"And as I told you before, Norman, we've learned a lot from observing your behavior," Scrier smiled, "I'm sure you will find your punishment rather poetic or ironic, depending on how you think about it."

The room that Osborn was being held in then echoed with his screams of pain and agony.

**Outside**

Arachne and Spider-Man watched as two scriers patrolled the roof of what appeared to be the roof of a warehouse from the roof of another roof. The two had been going over the weirdness that they had dealt with when they had been intercepted by Glue earlier and remained out of sight of the two Scriers.

"Remember when we ran into that first Scrier when we went after Fisk for the first time?" Arachne asked as she looked down at the two Scrier's patrolling the roof.

"Yeah," Spider-Man nodded.

"I don't think he was the only Scrier in New York," Arachne answered, "I think these other guys were waiting in the wings the entire time."

"It wouldn't surprise me," Spider-Man responded, "Remember though, that their training will not be enough to defeat our spider-sense."

"Suppose they use some sort of mysticism again," Arachne commented, "Like what they used John Jameson?"

"It's possible," Spider-Man shrugged, "But they are nowhere near Doctor Strange's league in terms of sorcery, so I wouldn't think that they would use anything that would particularly threatening against us. And even if they do, our spider-sense should warn us of danger somewhat."

"If you say so," Arachne commented, "Hopefully they left Osborn alive."

"Yeah, because that would be terrible," Spider-Man responded, "We have to come all this way to save that lunatic and the Scriers go and kill him, wasting our effort."

Arachne only sighed and then looked toward the warehouse again.

"I don't suppose there is any way of us figuring out where Osborn is being held in that place?" Arachne asked.

Spider-Man shook his head, "Not really, but it's a warehouse. I don't think it will be that hard to look and find him… although it might be wise to be ready for surprises. If necessary, I guess we'll just have to search every room individually."

"Oh great," Arachne sighed, "We go supervillain rescuing without a plan."

"Every time I try to actually 'plan' something, something else happens and ruins the original plan," Spider-Man sighed as he leaped from the roof, "I've generally decided to make a business of winging it."

Arachne sighed and leaped after Spider-Man. It was lines like that despite the fact that she was now his partner, made Arachne worry about her husband. The initial leap, however, was nothing to worry about. The two heroes easily cleared the distance between the two buildings and took out the scriers that were guarding the roof. Spider-Man landed on the shoulders of one scrier and drove him down into the roof itself. This knocked that scrier out.

Arachne landed just behind the other scrier who had turned when he heard his partner fall to the ground. The scrier had no chance to scream any alarm as Arachne clubbed him with her own fists knocking him to the ground.

"We'll, that was easy," Spider-Man commented, trying to sound optimistic.

"There were only two up here," Arachne reminded him, "it won't be as easy when they all learn we're here."

Spider-Man knowingly shrugged.

"And since it might be best to try and prevent that from happening, couldn't we use their robes as a disguise?" Arachne asked.

"Not unless you want to risk your identity," Spider-Man replied, "And assuming that you'll be able to effectively crawl along ceilings in them."

"Fine," Arachne sighed, "Let's go in."

They then moved toward a raised structure that likely housed a stairway that would lead them inside the warehouse. They found that the stairway was like one that was leading into something into a warehouse, as the wall went all the way down to the landing and then it seemed to turn into a hallway.

"Now begins the spying part of the mission," Spider-Man announced as he leaped up and clung to the ceiling of the stairwell, "we'll just cling to the ceiling and listen. There's bound to be one in there that knows where they're holding Osborn."

"What if they look up?" Arachne asked as she joined Spider-Man on the ceiling.

"When have people ever looked up?" Spider-Man asked back, "All we need to do is keep quiet and they won't know we're there."

The two then began moving along the ceiling down the stairwell before Spider-Man spoke up again.

"If someone does look up for some reason, we web him up before he can raise an alarm," Spider-Man spoke as they moved, and then sighed, "and if he manages to raise an alarm, we'll just have to knock every scrier in this place senseless."

Arachne only sighed silently and followed. They found that the hallway at the end of the stairwell only lead to another stairwell, which they had to follow. So far they had found no sign of any sort of security.

**Avengers Tower**

Jarvis found Aunt May seated in one of the television rooms watching an 'Classic TV' channel. She was specifically watching an old episode of 'I Love Lucy'. He slowly stepped forward and made a soft noise to get her attention. When she turned she gave a slight sigh.

"You needn't do that," Aunt May said, "If you wish to get my attention, you may say 'hello May'. There is no need to make some other noise to get my attention for fear that you'll scare me."

"I'm sorry," Jarvis said, "Your nephew has informed me of your battles with various health problems and I didn't wish to aggravate them."

"No need to worry about that," Aunt May replied, "This probably will not fly with any doctor, but more then half of the problems I had with my health were probably caused more by stress then anything else. Peter was not always the dashing man that you know now."

Jarvis nodded as he sat down.

"He was a very frail boy growing up," Aunt May continued, "always at risk of being hurt, afraid of heights, and other things. Now, as I'm sure you can see is that his becoming Spider-Man has fixed all those old childhood problems for him, but I didn't find out he was Spider-Man until fairly recently. Not yesterday, mind you, but a lot closer to today then the day he got his powers."

"I understand," Jarvis nodded.

"Well, up until the point that I found about Peter, I always assumed that he was still a very frail boy," Aunt May spoke, "Maybe the 'mother' in me, but I always worried about him, hoped he was okay, and all that stress I think hurt me as well, not to mention that when I thought Spider-Man and Peter were two separate people, I did not hold the highest opinions of Spider-Man."

"He could get hurt as Spider-Man you know," Jarvis commented, "I'm not sure how learning he was Spider-Man cured you of this stress."

"Because the Peter Parker I knew when he was a boy would not have lasted a minute against the foes that he has battled as Spider-Man," Aunt May clarified, "they may hurt him, and that does scare me and I will worry, but I can be proud of Peter now. He can endure the battles he fights far better then the young Peter could endure even a paper cut, and after listening to his reasons for being Spider-Man, I can truly say that I can see his Uncle Ben smiling on him. And that is the thing that keeps the worst of the stress away. It has made Peter into a good man, and by that I mean a very good man. A man every good person would be proud of, if they could know he truth."

"I see," Jarvis replied, "It's not everyday that the children that one raises exceeds your hopes."

"It is also not an everyday occurrence that one meets another person that one can call pleasant company," Aunt May smiled politely, "You ought to relax more often. The Avengers are grown ups. They can take care of themselves."

"But you've had both your nephew and his wife before you met me," Jarvis said, "They couldn't be bad company."

Aunt May took Jarvis's hand and smiled again, "But, Peter and Mary Jane can never replace Ben as the type of company I am referring to, and I certainly wouldn't want them to try. They're a young couple, and I expect them to produce some grand-nephews and nieces in the future. You, on the other hand, remind me in many ways of my dear departed Ben, and if his angel could come down from heaven to see you, I believe he would bless our 'dating' as the young folks call it."

Jarvis couldn't help but smile. He had served the Avengers and Tony Stark through every crisis that they had faced, and his memories of service in the RAF were still there in his mind, but through all of this he had never found a suitable female companion of his own. Some of it was that most of the women he met as the 'major domo' of the Avengers were far too young for him, and the rest was the fact that he always remained loyal to his work, and he did admit that he needed someone to distract him from it if one expected him to do something other then work. To his great surprise, he found May Parker to be that 'someone'. He would never mention this to the Avengers, with the possible exceptions of Spider-Man and Arachne, but he was grateful that she was around. For the first time in a long time, he felt complete.

"So, you are watching some classic programs?" Jarvis asked, "I thought you would be watching daytime programming."

"Soap Operas?" Aunt May gave a chuckle, "They aren't bad, but not my first choice anymore. There is too much drama in those things, and in my present environment, I am sure to get all the drama I need. Mary Jane is the one who actually likes them. She was on one for awhile, although I think they only wanted her for one or two reasons, neither of which involved acting."

"That seems rather rotten of them, considering the reviews I've read on her performances in these off-Broadway shows," Jarvis commented, "They all say that she has done a very good job."

"She has," Aunt May nodded, "All she needed was a little push. I'm glad she is enjoying her carrier as an actor."

They sat and quietly watched rest of the episode that was on before May changed to a news station to catch the local news broadcast. It showed a reporter standing outside warehouse.

"The 'organized gang war' that began with the shocking murder of Silvio Manfredi may be at an end after the recapture of the criminal leader, Wilson Fisk, popularly known as the Kingpin," the reporter spoke, "Fisk and multiple members of the organization that have connections with the 'Kingpin' were found in the warehouse behind me and webbed up, indicating that at least the hero known as Spider-Man was involved in capturing them. It does not appear however that Fisk or his associates will be directly charged for the violence that started with Manfredi's murder. Most of this comes from a statement made by Fisk upon his capture."

The reporter then paused for a moment before continuing.

"According to Fisk, he was kidnapped from his prison cell on Rikers Island by an unknown organization which, according to Fisk controlled his organization to start the gang war," the reporter continued, "Fisk could not identify who this mysterious organization was."

"That would be the Scriers," Aunt May grumbled.

"They wouldn't know that," Jarvis commented, "Fisk likely kept everything quiet about the Scriers to free them from any sort of implication."

"Hopefully Peter and Mary Jane throttle them then," Aunt May replied.

**The Scrier's Headquarters**

Spider-Man and Arachne continued along the ceiling of the headquarters that the Scriers were operating from in New York. Many of the hallways were empty and even the in the ones where there was a scrier present, they never looked up. All of this still amazed Arachne as she thought that these guys would be more cautious, especially considering who they would be dealing with. What was the most difficult part for them was that the doors that lead to individual rooms were all solid wood and had no 'hole' to look through, and frustrate matters more, there did not appear to be any air vents that they could use to overcome the fact that neither Spider-Man nor Arachne could see through wood. So far, none of the scriers that had walked below them had even mentioned Osborn once.

The two kept silently moving on, actually wandering aimlessly, hoping to get lucky and find a scrier that did know where Osborn was. Finally they came across something that might help them out. It was a lone scrier walking along carrying an open box. Inside the box were various knives, throwing stars, and other assorted sharp weapons. He was the greeted by a larger scrier who looked like he carried some authority with him.

"Is that the gear for the next phase of Osborn's 'execution'?" the larger Scrier asked in a fairly demanding voice.

"Yes, sir, are we to begin cutting off fingers or just inflicting painful slashes to his body?" the Scrier holding the box asked.

"The leader does not yet wish to begin doing that which will begin to truly kill Osborn," the larger Scrier answered, "Especially after the electric shock therapy he's received recently. We will just slash at his shoulders and legs. Just enough to make him scream, but not enough to kill him. The leader has something special planned for the actual death of Osborn."

The other scrier gave a slight laugh and the said, "We'll, I'd best get to the basement torture chamber. Wouldn't want to miss the surprise."

The smaller scrier then hurried on his way and the larger scrier disappeared into the room that the smaller scrier had just come out of. Spider-Man and Arachne slowly followed the smaller scrier, but stayed far enough back that they could whisper to each other.

"At least we know now where he is and that they haven't killed him yet," Arachne whispered.

"They can't be all that far away though," Spider-Man whispered back, "they said something about 'electric shock therapy' and that guy had a whole bunch of knives and stuff. Something tells me that their 'electric shock therapy' is a bit more painful then what any doctor would prescribe, which will leave Norman weak, and being slashed with those knives and stuff won't help."

"So how will we get Norman out and to the police?" Arachne asked quietly, "They're bound to find out we're in here when we 'save' him, and even if Osborn isn't weakened from the torture, he can't cling to walls?"

"That's where the 'butt kicking' will begin," Spider-Man whispered back, "at that point that's about all we can do. Right now, we need to follow this guy to the basement and hope that this place doesn't have a…"

At that moment, the scrier they had been following got into what looked like an elevator and the doors shut behind him.

"…elevator," Spider-Man finished.

"Guess we gotta find a flight of stares that go down," Arachne commented.

"And then we listen for screams," Spider-Man added with a nod.

Meanwhile, in the room that Osborn was being tortured in, Osborn himself was not fairing well. The powers granted him by the 'Goblin Formula' were keeping him alive, but he could tell that the Scriers were getting extremely close to overwhelming them to the point where would be put into the death-like state that he suffered after being impaled on his own glider after dropping Gwen Stacy to her death. Now, while Osborn hoped that if he 'died' he would only go into that near death state and again heal in secret, he was afraid that the Scriers knew him too well. The damage he had suffered so far, was far greater then what his glider had did to him. There also seemed to be no indication that it would stop anytime soon.

"Please," Osborn coughed weakly, "I… apologize…"

The leading Scrier only laughed at Osborn's comment.

"So you admit you've done wrong?" the Scrier asked with a smile, "You must be getting desperate if you think saying 'I'm sorry' will let you escape punishment. Besides, you, Norman Osborn, are the type of person that generally isn't sorry for anything."

The Scrier then began removing the electrical wires from the straps that held Osborn down. Osborn no longer had to worry about electrocution, but he was so weak now that the binders could easily hold him.

"And on top of it, we have spent a great deal of effort trying to find your real executioner," the Scrier continued, "It would be a shame to bring him all this way and then tell him he can't kill you."

"And… what… lowlife… looking… for… a… name… for… himself… have… you… recruited?" Osborn questioned, trying to think of some way to get out of being killed.

"Oh, you already know him and he is on his way," the Scrier answered, "and he is someone whom you've hurt greatly through your own schemes."

"Spider…Man… is… no… murderer…" Osborn wheezed out.

"Whatever makes you think it is Spider-Man that we have contacted?" the Scrier replied, "If he was to be involved we would not have to go far. The one who is coming we had to search the world for."

It was then that the scrier carrying the box of knives and other weapons arrived. He then began arranging the weapons a table that was just within Osborn's range of vision. Too weak to really give any real shock or horror at what was about to be done to him, Osborn only let a long breath of air escape his lungs as he prepared for the next round.

"Ah, do not worry Osborn," the Scrier commented as approached the knives on the table, "We are getting very close to where your executioner will be brought in."

Spider-Man and Arachne had just made it to the level that they assumed could only be the basement when a scream of pain echoed through the hallways. While the scriers had insured that no one could see into the individual rooms that they had set up, they had not soundproofed the rooms.

"That can't be good," Arachne commented quietly.

"They've started on him already," Spider-Man whispered back, "This is getting very bad."

"Can you tell what room he's in?" Arachne asked, "With that echo I couldn't be sure where it came from originally."

"Not precisely, but I think he's in one down that hall," Spider-Man whispered back while pointing down a side hallway.

They then began moving down the hallway as the screams could be heard again. With each scream they were able to get a slightly more confident guess as to which room that Osborn was being tortured in.

Inside the room, the lower ranking scrier watched as the lead scrier continued with his work. Osborn continued to scream with pain as his punishment was delivered.

"He does not look like he will last much longer," the lower ranking Scrier commented, "We may need to call for the executioner."

This made the lead scrier step back and look at Osborn and he quickly saw that they had done their work too well. Osborn was in no condition to withstand anymore.

"You're right," the leading Scrier spoke with a nod, "go and bring him in."

While the lower ranking scrier walked out of Osborn's sight, but apparently not out of the room, the lead scrier returned his attention to Osborn.

"You may breathe easy Osborn," the lead Scrier said in a triumphant sounding voice, "Soon your ordeal will be over."

The lead scrier then smiled as the lower ranking scrier lead Osborn's executioner in through a door on the other side of the table that Osborn was strapped to. He could only just barely resist chuckling when Osborn saw who his executioner would be.

"Kaine!" Osborn gasped recognizing the degenerating clone of Peter Parker.

"Yes," Kaine answered, "Me. After all this time, you will finally pay for what you did to Ben Reilly."

"But… you… hate… Reilly…" Osborn managed.

"Things and people change, Osborn," Kaine answered, "I've made some pretty bad mistakes with my life and Ben Reilly helped me realize that. Him and Spider-Man. Then you went and killed Ben Reilly after he'd helped me discover the error of my ways."

"And… this… is… how… you…become… a… hero…" Osborn asked.

"No, this is how I get revenge," Kaine answered, "I have no interest in being a hero."

"He tore apart several Scriers when we were still in your employ, trying to hunt you down," the lead Scrier smiled, " image his surprise when he learned that you had betrayed us and that we now wanted you dead."

The lead scrier then turned to Kaine who as waiting impatiently to get started.

"You may begin," the lead Scrier spoke to the clone.

Before Kaine could even step forward, the main door seemed to practically explode off its hinges as Spider-Man and Arachne leaped into the room.

"Alright, as much as I'm going to regret this later, I can't…" Spider-Man began and then said in a shocked voice, "Kaine?"

"This is interesting," the lead Scrier commented with smile, "The heroes are here to rescue their worst enemy."

"What are you doing here Kaine?" Spider-Man asked.

"I'm here to put an end to the man who has given you and I more grief then any individual has ever done," Kaine answered, "Why would you defend him?"

"Because simply killing him is wrong," Arachne spoke up, "We're here to capture him and turn him over to the police."

"The police will not kill him," Kaine spoke back firmly, "you should know that as an ex-agent of Hydra."

"I'm not Spiderwoman," Arachne growled back, "I am Arachne. I would have thought that to be obvious by our different costumes. Spiderwoman's costume is red and yellow."

"She is right, about that," the lead Scrier added, "Although Kaine is also right, arachnid. The police will not bring this man to justice, at least not the justice that he truly deserves, and he is likely to escape them at some point."

"He deserves torture?" Spider-Man asked back looking at his former nemesis.

Osborn certainly didn't look well. Both his eyes were swollen and the eyelids looked black, as if they had been beaten heavily. Spider-Man could smell the electrical burns through his mask and he could see that Osborn certainly didn't look like the arch-nemesis that he had been. Two throwing stars were also stuck in his shoulders and there were some fairly deep cuts on his arms and across his chest.

"The Brotherhood of Scriers feels he deserves it," the lead Scrier answered.

"Maybe not, but he does deserve death," Kaine answered.

"And potentially allow someone worse then Osborn take his place or allow someone like the Kingpin expand his power into the areas that Osborn controlled?" Spider-Man asked.

"Or allow Osborn to kill your wife?" Kaine asked back, "I know he has tried that once already."

"She would never allow that," the lead Scrier replied, "and besides, she stands before you."

Kaine then looked at Arachne and then back at Spider-Man and then back at Arachne again. Before he could ask, Arachne asked her own question.

"How do you know?" Arachne demanded beginning to feel frustrated that not only had she lost her shot at normality, but now also her hopes at keeping her identity secret as well.

"We have had some agents here for some time," the lead Scrier replied, "We know of the Hobgoblin's actions and your transformation from actress to heroine, Mrs. Parker. We did not tell the Kingpin as that would have kept him from the job we hired him to do. We also did not inform him of your husband's identity for the same reasons."

"Well ain't that peachy," Spider-Man commented, "I don't suppose we could ask you to give up on killing Osborn now could we?"

"I'm afraid not," the lead Scrier answered, "Now, Kaine, I'd suggest you get on with the execution, while we deal with Spider-Man and his partner."

"They are not to be killed," Kaine said to the lead Scrier as he turned to Osborn.

Kaine was stopped by a webline that wrapped around his shoulder and pulled him back. He looked back to see Spider-Man holding on to the webline that had caught him.

"Again, as much as I will probably regret this later, I can not let you kill him," Spider-Man said firmly, "It isn't justice."

"And the law will not give him the justice he deserves," Kaine growled, "He killed your first love. He killed Ben. He killed your child. Are you going to let him escape so that he can come back and cause you trouble again?"

Spider-Man tried to pull Kaine back away from the chair that Osborn was in. It was a tight struggle as Kaine was beginning to fight against him, and they were at least evenly matched, although Spider-Man thought he could remember something about Ben saying that Kaine's strength was augmented to be even higher then his own. Not wanting to go a full ten rounds with Kaine, Spider-Man had to try and persuade Kaine to let Osborn go. He knew that would be difficult as Kaine's argument did hurt fairly heavily.

Arachne was meanwhile left to face both the leading Scrier and his lower ranking assistant. She kept her eyes fixed on the lead Scrier. If the lower ranking Scrier did anything, it might not be something that her spider-sense wouldn't detect in time. The leader, however, was the more important villain to face. Suddenly, Arachne felt her spider-sense go off and she did cartwheel to avoid the lower ranking Scrier who tried to drive two knives into Arachne's shoulders. As she moved then narrowly avoided being kicked in the face by the lead Scrier.

"You are strong, and you are fast," the lead Scrier said with a smile, "but you can not match our training. We know how to fight. You just know how to restrain yourself."

"I'll show you how I restrain myself," Arachne growled and shot out two weblines around the lower ranking Scrier's ankles.

Arachne then spun in circles, using her strength to left the lower ranking Scrier into the air and then physically threw him into the leading Scrier. The impact sent both to the ground.

"I may not be trained in any sort of 'kung-fu' type style of fighting, but know how to defend myself," Arachne said firmly, "And it is important for you to remember that I only need to land one punch to knock you people out."

"Then I'd best bring an army," the lead Scrier growled, pushing the unconscious lower ranking Scrier off of him and producing a small intercom type device, "This is your leader. The heroes Spider-Man and Arachne have invaded our domain. They must not be allowed to escape."

"Great," Arachne growled and leaped through the air to land a kick against the lead Scrier's face, knocking him unconscious as well.

Spider-Man kept trying to pull Kaine back while he though of a reason that the clone might accept as a reason worthy of sparing Osborn. His attempts to pull Kaine away didn't last long as clone grabbed his webbing and pulled on it so that Spider-Man was pulled into Kaine's own grasp. Kaine then held Spider-Man by the neck with one hand and made sure that he wasn't standing on the ground.

"I do not want to fight you," Kaine spoke, "I promised Ben that my vendetta with him and with you was at an end."

"This is an interesting way of showing it," Spider-Man choked, "But still, I can't let you kill Osborn. He may deserve it, and I'm sure there times when I've wished him dead, but I'd prefer it to be a judge that sentences him to death, not just some mindless murder. I mean the police will be hunting you if you kill him."

"They already hunt me, Spider-Man," Kaine answered, "For what I did before."

Spider-Man struggled to free himself from Kaine's grip, but the clone was proving to be far stronger then he remembered, although he wasn't entirely sure if Kaine had ever truly fought him or just Ben.

"Just stand aside, and Osborn will never trouble you again," Kaine spoke firmly.

"What if I could promise you that he would go to a prison that he could never escape from?" Spider-Man wondered.

"Such places do not exist," Kaine answered, "Just stand aside. You and Mary Jane will leave with me and the Scriers will not touch either of you."

"I'm afraid that's not possible," Arachne said as she landed nearby, "And call me Arachne for the moment. Even if they know my real name, some of them might not. Anyway, I dealt with the two that were in here, but he called for reinforcements before I could knock him out. We have their whole organization coming, and I'm sure that killing us is first on their list."

Kaine turned his head to hear the pounded of footsteps coming in the direction of the room they were in.

"Then let me finish him off quickly and then I will hold them off while you escape," Kaine said quickly.

"Kaine, you want to kill Osborn because he killed Ben? Right?" Spider-Man choked out.

"Yes," Kaine answered, "and I would have thought that I was helping you by doing so."

"You actually might," Spider-Man sighed as Kaine's grip relaxed a little, "But, Osborn is the devil I know. I'd rather have him around then some guy that I don't know. I can predict Osborn, but if some stranger takes up the mantle of the Green Goblin, he can be unpredictable."

That didn't phase Kaine at all.

"Also, would Ben want you to kill Osborn in an act of revenge?" Spider-Man then asked.

That finally made Kaine back down and release Spider-Man. Arachne rushed to his side as Spider-Man landed and tried to regain his breath.

"No," Kaine sighed heavily, "You and he were very much alike in that matter. Death is not something you liked to see or wanted to happen."

"Thank you," Spider-Man spoke.

"You will regret this," Kaine reminded him.

"I know," Spider-Man sighed while he and Arachne began undoing the straps that held Osborn in the chair he was in.

It was then that half a dozen Scriers burst into the room with the sound of more coming. Each held some sort of sword or bladed weapon.

"Kill him Kaine!" one Scrier screamed, "We'll deal with the interlopers."

"No," Kaine growled.

"But they broke in," the Scrier answered.

"They are with me," Kaine said in a low voice, "If you want to get to them, you must go through me."

The Scriers then advanced.

"Very well then," a second Scrier said in a low voice.

The Scriers then leaped at Kaine with murderous intent. Kaine caught one in mid leap and threw him back into the doorjamb and caught another with a kick that knocked another out immediately.

"Go! I will hold them off!" Kaine yelled.

"Are you sure?" Spider-Man asked.

He was answered by a Scrier being thrown between him and Arachne.

"Go!" Kaine ordered again.

"We'd better go," Arachne said quickly as she lifted up Osborn, who now appeared to be unconscious, "These guys appear to be distracted with Kaine and we can get Osborn to a jail cell."

Spider-Man looked over to see Kaine being attacked by several Scriers. One or two rushed around Kaine to come at them, but Spider-Man easily dealt with them by webbing their legs together. They then ran for the door that Kaine had originally come through. Two Scriers were guarding the hallway as Spider-Man and Arachne moved through the doorway. Spider-Man webbed the first, preventing him from doing anything while kicking the other back against the wall. They then ran by them before they could fully recover.

Kaine was left with the remaining attackers in the basement while Spider-Man and Arachne hurried out. He was easily able to avoid their attacks and brought them in close do deal a powerful blow on the attacking Scriers.

"You betrayed us!" a Scrier screamed as he slashed at Kaine with a katana, "Fisk in all his idiocy didn't betray us."

Kaine jumped back from the worst of the attack, but felt a sting of pain as the sword cut through his thigh. Kaine then grabbed the Scrier before he could prepare for a second swing and threw him up before he could let go. The throw sent the Scrier, sword first into the light fixtures above them. The Scrier himself was instantly electrocuted as a shower of sparks fell down onto the floor below. Kaine then turned and ran as the light fixtures began exploding from the electrical overload and setting the building on fire.

Spider-Man and Arachne kept moving throw the hallways, now moving quickly and trying to find a way out and not necessarily trying to figure out exactly which way they were supposed to be going. Most of the Scriers appeared to be taking a different route and looking for the basement where Kaine was and they ran into no one as they moved up several flights of stairs until they finally found the stairs that went up to the roof.

"This looks familiar," Spider-Man quipped as they made their way to the roof.

"It should be," Arachne said back, "It's the roof. Were do we drop Osborn off? The Scriers are likely to pick him up again if we leave him on a street corner."

"Back to the Avengers Tower," Spider-Man answered, "Cap can then turn him over to S.H.I.E.L.D. and they'll either send him to one of their prisons for international terrorists or hand him over to the superhuman division of the Justice Department. Besides, he'll need serious medical attention to fix him up after what the Scriers did to him."

Osborn then seemed to come into a semiconscious state and mumbled, "thank… you…"

"You won't be thanking us when you realize where your final destination is," Arachne answered.

They then began to swing away from the building that the Scriers had set up as their headquarters. Neither of them saw Kaine or several Scriers leave, but for the most part the battle was over.

**Avengers Tower, half an hour later**

Peter, still in costume but minus the mask returned to a living room where MJ, again, still in costume but her mask pulled down, was seated talking with Aunt May.

"Well, we needn't worry about Osborn for awhile," Peter announced as he walked back into the room.

"What will happen to him?" Aunt May asked curiously.

"For now, he's going to be sedated," Peter answered, "He came to his senses and realized that he is headed for a S.H.I.E.L.D. prison and he didn't like that very much. The sedatives will give him the time he needs to fully recover from what the Scriers put him though."

"What about them?" Mary Jane asked, "I highly doubt that they won't be angry with us or with Kaine for 'saving' Osborn."

"Probably not, but to an extent, they'll expect that sort of behavior from us, and Kaine is enough of a wild card that they'd probably wish to avoid him at all possible," Peter answered, "I highly doubt that they'll go on a 'revenge streak' against us. We may run into them again in the future, and I'm sure they will be interested in at least maiming us when that happens, but I don't think they'll go for all out revenge."

"You're certain?" Mary Jane asked.

"Pretty sure, especially since their headquarters looked like it was on fire when we left," Peter commented, "With Fisk going back to jail and their base up in flames, I doubt they'll have much time to deal with us."

"They didn't burn to death, did they?" Aunt May asked.

"I doubt it," Peter sighed, "the best that we did to the Scriers was gum up their organization. They'll be back eventually."

"We'd best be ready for whenever that is," Mary Jane commented, "I'd still prefer some 'training' sessions other then actually being out there, maybe even like some stuff in terms of knowing how to fight, rather then relying on being stronger and faster then an opponent."

"You might actually want to talk to Cap or maybe even Wolverine for that sort of stuff," Peter shrugged, "I've generally mastered superior speed, strength, agility, and above all intellect. I've generally outsmarted or outmaneuvered the foes that I have that are either stronger or faster, or both. Cap and Wolverine actually know all the martial arts stuff."

"I'd prefer to ask Cap," Mary Jane answered, "I'm still working to perfect my pheromone powers, and Wolverine's nose is too strong for my tastes, and to be honest, he kinda unnerves me a little."

"Don't worry," Peter answered, "They'll all understand. Plus, I don't think Wolverine actually likes training people. His name just comes to mind because he's the 'best at what he does', whatever that means."

"I'll work with Cap," Mary Jane answered, "That way, Arachne doesn't accidentally do something that someone who trained how to fight wouldn't do."

"I saw on the news this afternoon that you did bring in Fisk," Aunt May commented, "That had to have been good."

"It stops the gang war, which is what started all of this," Peter nodded, "Even if Fisk somehow manages to avoid additional punishment for starting the gang war an murdering Silvermane, he'll at least be incarcerated for awhile."

"I think he will get out of that, dear," Aunt May said nervously, "They reported that he said he was kidnapped from his cell by some mysterious organization and they started the gang war with him as the intended scapegoat."

"The Scriers?" Peter asked.

"The reporters said he didn't know who his abductors were," Aunt May answered.

"I guess that means he did what he could do to insure that he was legally blameless while not actually fingering the Scriers then," Mary Jane sighed.

"He'll still be behind bars for awhile," Peter replied, "I think he had over a year left on his sentence. Anything he can do now will be limited."

**Rikers Island, Visiting Room**

"It is good that most of the organization will be freed," one of Fisk's lieutenants spoke to the large man on the other side of the glass.

"Yes," Fisk answered with a nod, "Once they are free to join you, you are to go to work at maintaining my domain as quickly as possible, although you may have to cede some territory to Fortunato and Jimmy Six until I am freed from my incarceration here."

"Of course," the lieutenant nodded, "They're likely to 'reclaim' the territory we took initially in the 'gang war', restoring the Owl's balance of power."

Fisk nodded, "I do, however, want the Owl's bookkeeper killed. Quietly. I do not want the superhumans of New York knowing about it until it is over."

"Of course," the lieutenant nodded, "Hopefully though, that your reappearance was enough to teach everyone that you are the only 'Kingpin'."

"I'm sure of that," Fisk answered, "And now it is time to go back to the original 'escape' plan. Find the legal loophole that gets me out and puts the king back on his throne."

"I'll contact your lawyers, sir," the lieutenant nodded.

**Elsewhere**

The lead Scrier brushed himself off as he and his followers moved through the sewers of New York City. Their warehouse headquarters had been burned down as a result of Spider-Man and Arachne somehow persuading Kaine to spare Osborn. Nearly half the Scriers had been either killed or seriously hurt in fighting the clone who was once again gone.

"Where do you suppose Osborn's gone?" a lower ranking Scrier asked.

"Spider-Man and Arachne likely took him to some high security prison where the probability of his escape is minimal," the lead Scrier answered, "His punishment has only been postponed."

"What about Spider-Man and Arachne?" another Scrier asked.

"We can not challenge them directly," the lead Scrier answered, "For now, we are to rebuild our base. Then we are to begin searching for a powerful champion against them."

"That will take time," a third Scrier commented.

"Which is all we have," the lead Scrier commented, "this is only the end of round one."

**The End…?**

**Note:** This ends Spider-Man and Arachne's battles with the Kingpin and for the moment, the Brotherhood of Scriers. The third title in series will go through my version of Marvel's 'Civil War' as how that effects Spider-Man. If anyone wishes to follow the exact plot of my version of the Civil War, you'll need to follow my story in the Captain America section titled, 'Civil War'. Also note that that work is heavily political many may not like it, and shouldn't entirely be required for the next 'Spider-Man' story.


End file.
